Demons and Angels
by A Scary Man
Summary: A ninja, a duplicator, a foreseer, an earthshaker, a tunneller, a strongman, a knife artist, and the ultimate warrior. Eight angry young mutants under Pyro's command, determined to annihilate humanity.
1. The Brotherhood of Mutants

**DEMONS AND ANGELS**

"On your left!" Cassandra cried.

I whirled to the left, fists raised, standing in a defensive posture, ready for whatever might come at me. Moments passed, then from behind a tree a figure sprang, clearly thinking they'd caught me by surprise. Seeing I was ready for him, my assailant swore, but didn't lessen the pace of his attack, hurrying forward, pulling back his fist. As he swung it, I dodged to the side easily, grabbed him by the arm, and used his momentum to throw his small frame away from me. He hit the ground hard, cursed, and struggled to get back on his feet.

 "Behind you!" yelled Cassandra.

I spun round, and a few seconds later another attacker emerged from the tree-line, his fists clenched, moving towards me more cautiously than the last one. I watched him warily, staying in a defensive position. I knew I couldn't defeat this one by brute strength alone. He advanced towards me, slowly, and I kept my ground, waiting for him to make the first move. He was clearly trying to do the same thing. I just had to be patient. I had to resist the temptation to rush in with my fists flying. He lost his patience first, and came charging towards me. I waited until he reached the point of no return, then I activated my camouflage mutation. Each cell of my skin and clothing changed to take on the appearance of whatever was behind it, like a chameleon. As I disappeared from his sight, my attacker swore, realising I'd fooled him. He backed off as quickly as he could, but I was already on him, and a sideways kick sent him sprawling to the ground.

 I looked over at my girlfriend, and Cassandra gave me a smile, then her expression became deadly serious, "Over this way! They're coming from behind me!"

I ran over, putting myself between her and whatever danger was approaching. Protecting the girl I loved was something I did instinctively. This time there were two attackers running towards us, and I hurriedly tried to formulate a plan for fighting both of them. It wasn't going to be easy. Cassandra was hurrying backwards, getting out of my way, and I saw the first of the attackers lift both of his arms, stretching them out towards me. That was the only warning I got of a huge rock leaping away from the earth and hurtling through the air towards me. I dived to the ground to avoid it, and rolled over, jumping back upright. Another rock was flying towards me, but I was able to duck this one more easily. Breaking into a run, I charged towards the enemy. Just as I got close to him, another huge rock came sailing into my peripheral vision. I had no time to avoid it, and it struck the side of my head, pitching me sideways. I felt no pain, as a result of my mutations, and the only result was that I became angrier. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as my fury grew, and my body was pushed into a sublime 'berserk' state, increasing my strength, speed, stamina, and amplifying the power of my mutations. Within three strides I was upon my attacker, and a single punch knocked him ten feet through the air away from me.

 "Get down!!" I heard Cassandra screaming.

I didn't question her, or even think. Cassandra's mutation granted her foresight, the ability to see the future, and when she gave me a warning, I always heeded it. Dropping to the ground, I heard a _whish as a throwing knife streaked through the air where I'd just been standing. I leapt to my feet, and ran towards the one who had thrown it. He drew back his wrist to throw another one, but I was too fast, and I grabbed his arm, holding it still. He twisted out of my grasp, and slashed at me with the knife. I ducked and aimed a punch at his jaw. He raised his right hand, holding up a solid metal shield, which my fist impacted harmlessly against.  Spinning on the spot, I aimed a kick at his face. He only had time to lean marginally out of the way, and I caught him a glancing blow to the shoulder. It was enough to knock him off balance, and I moved in for the kill. Throwing another punch to his jaw, he reacted with near-impossible speed to bring up another metallic shield, blocking my attack. His other hand, still holding the knife, swooped down towards my throat. Grabbing his wrist, I twisted, and he dropped the knife. From somewhere he found new strength, and pulled free from my grasp, hurrying away from me. Turning, he opened his hands to reveal a throwing knife in each. With a simultaneous flick of both wrists, he skimmed them through the air towards my heart. I knew I didn't have a hope of avoiding them._

 Cassandra slammed into my side, knocking me to the ground, and the knives passed harmlessly overhead. I was angry now; I went berserk once more as I wrenched myself to my feet, and ran towards the knife-thrower. Before he could conjure up any more blades, I swung my right fist in a devastating punch aimed at his face. He had to get both hands behind it, blocking it with another metal shield. That was OK. That was what I had counted on him doing. It meant he couldn't shield himself against my next attack. Inhaling deeply, I felt the now-familiar tingling sensation in my throat, and I let the breath out in a short, sharp burst; from my open mouth came a jet of white-hot flame searing through the air towards his head.

 "Stop! Stop!" came another voice.

Pyro hurried towards us, his hand out, the fire obeying his command and dissipating into the atmosphere. I relaxed.

 "Are you two trying to kill each other?!" he demanded.

I said nothing, letting my breathing and heart rate return to normal. Recyclo was likewise silent. Pyro snapped, "This is a training exercise, not a death duel! The whole point is for you to learn how to fight in pairs! I already know you can kill each other in one-on-one battles!"

By this time the others had joined us. Atlas held his jaw painfully and complained, "Did you really have to hit me that hard?"

 "No. I could have hit you harder," I said.

Pyro forestalled any retort, "Shut up, both of you. All right, here's what I thought of today's exercise: it was a failure. You're supposed to be fighting in pairs, but there's almost no teamwork on show. The only exception was Cassandra and Gladiator. Mole, Scarab, Atlas – you guys didn't even try to work with your partners, you just went straight for Gladiator, making it easy for him."

 "So what are we supposed to do?" Mole demanded. "We can't take them by surprise when Cassandra can predict our attacks! We can't do anything against Gladiator when he's ready for us!"

 "You're supposed to be working in a pair! What about some co-ordination or teamwork?"

Mole was silent, but he and Scarab were both angry. I could sympathise. Pyro wasn't the most patient man in the world, and learning under him was not an easy or pleasant experience.

 "The bottom line is, nobody passed today's exercise," Pyro concluded. "Mole, Scarab, you two simply didn't even try to work together. Atlas, Recyclo, same problem. Vertigo, Gemini, you two didn't get a chance, since I had to stop things early before these two killed each other. Gladiator, Cassandra, you know what you're meant to be doing, but you're still doing it wrong. You're moving too far apart when you should be close together at all times. Cassandra was only just in time to push you out of the way at the end there. And guys, _stop_ trying to get each other killed! I know you don't all like each other, but keep yourselves under control for heaven's sake! There'll be plenty of opportunities to draw blood when we launch our next attack on the humans."

Several of the others nodded, and I felt my fists instinctively clench as I thought about it, _Humans. Scum. Our chance for revenge, for everything they've done to us_.

 "All right, that's it for now. We'll meet again in the evening."

Pyro headed back towards the sanctuary, leaving us to our own devices. For a moment we stood together in a group, waiting for Pyro to walk out of earshot, then Vertigo shrugged, "I guess that didn't go too well."

 "He's so bloody pedantic!" Mole complained. "He never offers a word of praise to anyone! He finds fault in the tiniest little thing!"

 "Yeah – he's a perfectionist," Scarab said.

 "Yeah, and too much of one, if you ask me."

 "Well, you're not exactly Mr Easy-to-Please either, are you?" said Gemini sarcastically.

 "Yeah, but at least I – oh, forget it!"

Mole would complain about anything and everything, given the chance. Vertigo, the cool, laid-back one, said, "It's frustrating, but Pyro knows what he's talking about. He's training us to defend ourselves, and yeah, it's frustrating, and he can be a pain in the ass, but we've just got to stick with it. It might save our lives."

 "Not if we keep trying to kill each other in the process," Cassandra said. "It must be a male thing. Whenever we have a training exercise, you guys always end up practically killing one another."

 "They're just trying to impress us," Gemini smirked.

 "Yeah, you wish," Vertigo said.

She glared angrily at him. Other than myself, Vertigo was probably the only guy in the group who was immune to Gemini's considerable good looks. Well, maybe not Recyclo. I glanced over at our resident emotional vacuum, who stood with his arms folded, a foot or two away, surveying the rest of us without interest, through his half-closed grey eyes.

 "Seriously, though, you guys are in danger of going out of control," Cassandra went on. "Recyc and Glad came within an inch of killing each other just there."

Scarab shrugged, "Well, we're being taught how to kill, aren't we? We've got to learn to kill so we can destroy the humans."

 "I just don't want any of us to get hurt," said Cassie.

 "Huh – if you don't want to get hurt, don't take part in the fight, that's what I say."

Gemini nodded, "Yeah, that's just what a brainless male like you would say."

Cassandra turned to me, and said hesitantly, "Were you _really trying to kill Recyc?"_

 "Well – not exactly," I said. "When I'm berserk, I lose control. It's like the logical part of my brain just switches off, and I'm driven solely by my emotions. When I'm in that state, I'll kill anyone who represents a threat. I'm working on trying to keep myself under control, but…the adrenaline rush is just too much for me to handle."

She frowned, and looked over at Recyclo, "What about you, Recyc? Were you really trying to kill him?"

Recyclo raised one eyebrow, his face expressionless as always, and said in his deadpan London accent, "There's no need to shorten my name. We're not friends, so there's no need to try and be familiar with me."

He went silent, and she said, "You didn't answer my question: were you trying to kill him?"

Recyclo looked at her for a moment, then abruptly turned and walked away. We watched him go, then Gemini whispered, "He's weird. Does anybody else get freaked out when he's around?" 

 "Yes," I said.

Cassandra and a couple of the others nodded. Vertigo gave a lazy grin, "I don't think he's any worse than the rest of us. This place is a madhouse anyway."

 "Said the renowned psychologist," Gemini snapped back.

Vertigo yawned, "I'm so bored. We always argue like this when we're bored. Let's do something interesting for a change. You guys wanna head over to the mainland for a few hours? We're free till the evening, remember."

 "Yeah, I'll go," I said.

Cassandra slipped her hand inside mine, "You're not going anywhere without me."

The rest of them nodded their assent. Scarab said, "Should we ask Recyclo to go with us?"

 "Do _you want to spend time with him?" Gemini scoffed._

 "No, but – well, he's one of us, isn't he?"

 "That doesn't mean we have to hang around with him. He'd just say no anyway. Come on, let's go."

The seven of us began to head back to the sanctuary, where the helicopter sat on its pad, fully fuelled and ready to go as always, in case of emergencies. As I looked around at the others, I thought to myself: _This is amazing. I've only been here three weeks and it already feels as if I've known these people my entire life. I know all of their problems, all of their little mannerisms, all the things that they like and dislike. We can relate to each other so well._

 I squeezed Cassie's hand, and smiled at her. I'd never before felt about a girl the way I felt about her. Except once. The only other girl I had ever loved had been murdered before my eyes, by humans. I could still see it when I shut my eyes, could see the bullet hitting her in the throat, could see her falling on to the ground, her hands clutching uselessly at her neck, trying to hold back the flow of blood, as she struggled to breathe through her ruined windpipe. I knew that nothing would ever bring her back. I knew I'd never see her again. My vendetta against humanity wasn't simply about revenge. I wanted to ensure that no mutant ever had to go through what I had. My fight was for the survival of mutantkind. The price of our survival was the death of humanity. It wasn't going to be easy, but all of us were committed to seeing it happen one day. It was a dream of mine, a heavenly image, of a world without humans. It was a dream we all shared.

 Plans and actions were already in motion that would ensure the elimination of the sub-creatures. Our enemies were working tirelessly to oppose our efforts, but their struggles would prove futile. Nobody was going to get in our way. Anyone who tried would have to fight the Gladiator. It was a name I had chosen, the name that my Brothers and Sisters now called me. I had abandoned the name my parents had given me: Gary Rosiçky. It was a useless name, the kind of name a human would have. Now I was the Gladiator, probably the world's most powerful fighter. There were none who could stand in my way.

 Except perhaps one.

A/N: well this is a trial chapter. If you want to read more, leave a review. If enough people are interested then I'll update when I can.

A/N 2: I'm thinking of starting a web site to upload these stories on to. What I'd really like to do is draw some pictures of the characters I have created, but I can't draw to save my life. Is there anyone who likes these stories, and who has some artistic talent, who might be able to draw some? I can't really offer any incentive but if you enjoyed the stories I'd love to see your impression of what the OCs look like. Drop me an email if you're interested. Thanks.


	2. The Human Disease

Chapter Two

 Humans. So many humans. Like rats in a sewer, like flies to a light, they teemed throughout the streets of New York City. No, more like a disease. They were a disease that had been inflicted on the planet. They had overtaken it, destroyed its natural beauty, polluted it, utterly ruined God's wonderful creation. They were not worthy to live on this beautiful globe. Humanity was a sickening virus, and we were the cure. We were the planet's immune system, in a way. God did not like what humans were doing to His Earth, and He had created mutants to destroy humanity. 

 This was the first time I had been among humans since I had joined the Brotherhood. It was strange, in a way, to walk amongst these swarming masses, none of whom gave me any more than a quick glance. None of them realised that my friends and I were the ones who were killing them. They all went about their everyday lives, telling themselves that they were safe from any danger, telling themselves that mutant attacks only happened to 'other people'. Well, they were wrong. We were going after all of them.

 Cassandra held my hand a little tighter as we walked past a particularly large group of loud humans. Cassie was nervous around the sub-creatures; her first twelve years had been spent suffering their hatred and bigotry, and even now that she was in a position where no human scum could harm her, she still hated reliving those memories. I squeezed her hand in return, and she gave me a little smile. Up ahead of us there was a crowd of humans, gathered outside a TV repair shop. In the window, a wide-screen TV was broadcasting something, something which was clearly the focal point of the mob. Intrigued, I moved closer to see what was showing. It was a news broadcast.

 "…continues to spread throughout the South American continent. At this rate, it can be only days before the Plague will spread to North America. From there it can be expected to extend to Europe and the rest of the world. The source of the Plague remains unknown, but rumours persist that mutants are responsible – "

 "Mutants," a human in the crowd growled angrily.

There was a grumble of agreement from the rest of the humans, and I struggled to keep the grin off my face. _You stupid sub-creatures! I thought, __the ones responsible are only centimetres away! The rest of our group were now around me, and the petite Gemini was glaring angrily at the back of a tall human who blocked her view of the TV. I returned my attention to the broadcast. The newsreader was saying something else:_

 "…so far no cure to the virus has been found, though some reports indicate a vaccine is being developed somewhere in Argentina. One incredible rumour even suggests that there are mutants with special healing powers, helping to find a cure. While this seems too unlikely to be true, a cure is desperately needed, and one must be found at all costs."

I avoided the eyes of the rest of the Brotherhood as they turned to look at me. I knew what they were thinking. There _were mutants helping the human scum to find a cure to our Plague. They called themselves the X-Men. My father, mother and sister were among them. I'd been part of the X-Men myself not so long ago, until I had seen the reality of the truth. They were our enemies, determined as they were to stand in our way, to stop us from defending our kind; to protect the lives of mutant-killing humans. I couldn't imagine what drove them to do so. Why they would rather defend humans than mutants was a mystery. Did they forget what they were? I didn't know, and I didn't care. I didn't care for any of them. Well, except one. But my sister had always been in love with the humans._

 I listened to the newsflash again, "…in other news, the nation-wide manhunt for the one who assassinated the President of the United States continues. There are no clues to the man's identity, other than this photograph."

A picture came up on the screen.

 "This was taken as the killer fled the scene. Needless to say, he has shot to the top of the FBI's ten most wanted list. A reward of ten million dollars is on offer for information leading to his capture."

Several of the humans in the crowd whistled, "Ten million _bucks?"_

 "I'd _pay ten million to be the one who brought the bastard in," one human spat, and some around him murmured their agreement._

Vertigo was standing just beside me, and I leaned over to whisper to him, "I suppose it's a good thing Recyclo isn't here."

 "Yeah," he whispered back. "It's not a bad picture of him."

I glanced around at the humans once more. _You stupid scum! I yelled in my mind, __we're the ones who started the Plague! We're the ones who killed your President! We're standing right here and you can't do a bloody thing! _You'll all be dead soon and you'll never know who we are!__

 A noise from behind me caught my attention, and I looked around. On a bench in the middle of the busy street sat a young mother, lovingly cuddling her tiny baby. As I watched, the infant beamed happily at its mother, and its tiny hand closed around her little finger. She returned the smile, and kissed the baby's forehead.

 Something stirred inside my heart. Watching the mother and baby had unsettled me. Suddenly I didn't feel quite so triumphant any more. I thought about it. When the Plague reached North America, this baby would be killed. Killed before it even had a chance to live its life. It would never smile or hold its mother's hand again. For some reason, that bothered me.  I couldn't think why. Was it guilt I was feeling? Did this baby deserve to die? It had never done anything wrong.

 But it was human, I reminded myself. It would grow up to be just like the rest of its kind. It would hate mutants, and would mistrust and abuse us. That was why we were doing this. Not to kill _them_, but to protect _us_. So that mutant babies and children would not be abandoned and mistreated, as Cassandra and the rest of my friends had been. There were machines available now, some kind of detectors that could determine whether a new-born child was human or mutant. Cassandra's parents had found out what she was, and abandoned her. The same thing had happened to Vertigo, and Mole, and Scarab, and Atlas. The same thing had happened to Overlord…but he was dead now, killed by humans, without any provocation. As for Gemini…I wasn't sure what had happened to her. At some point in her childhood she had been captured by a researcher who wanted to perform experiments on mutants. Pyro had rescued her, and he knew her history better than anyone. Gemini would never speak of it. None of us knew how badly she had suffered. Recyclo's past was also a mystery. I knew his parents had died when he was a baby. I knew he had a twin brother, who he'd been separated from, who was presumably also a mutant, but that was all Pyro had told us. When asked about his past, Recyclo would remain silent and pretend nobody had spoken. Nobody really knew anything about him, or why he was so weird. Had something happened to him that had made him the way he was? I didn't know.

 I looked at the baby once more, as it gave another beaming smile and gurgled happily, holding its mother's hand tightly. I had another thought. Would the mother love it that much if it had been born a mutant? Of course not. It would have been labelled a freak and dumped at the nearest adoption agency, like Cassandra and the others had been. If humans refused to care for their mutant offspring, then they shouldn't be allowed to reproduce at all.

 I turned away from the mother and child. Yet still, as I did so, the tiniest twinge of guilt remained in my heart. For a moment, just for a moment, I had an inkling of why my sister felt the way she did, of why she and her people would go to such lengths to preserve human life. Then I stopped. _Get a grip, I told myself furiously, __you're starting to think like an X-Man!__ You've left that behind you. I gave it no more thought._

 "Bloody mutants!" a human in the crowd was declaring angrily. "I'd like to get a hold of one; I'd show them what I think of them and their freaky 'powers'! They should all be strangled at birth!"

The rest of the crowd roared their agreement. I saw a figure pushing through the mob, and in the ensuing silence there was a single voice, "Would you like to repeat that?"

 I could see more clearly now. The loud-mouthed human was face to face with Mole. Or the air above Mole's head, at any rate. My adamantium-fisted friend was not the tallest, and he stood at least two feet shorter than the human. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Atlas and Scarab, moving forwards. The human sneered down at the tiny Mole, "So what's it to you, little man?"

I knew Mole didn't take kindly to remarks about his height. He narrowed his eyes, "You want to have a fight with a mutant?"

The human laughed, "Why, d'you know any?"

 "One or two."

 "Tell them: any time, any place. I bet I'm not the only one who'd like to see those _freaks wiped out."_

Mole's arm moved so fast, I wasn't the only one taken completely by surprise. His fist smacked into the human's face with a horrible wet cracking sound, and the sub-creature was thrown about twenty feet to the side, where he landed in an unconscious heap. It took a moment from the humans to realise exactly what had happened, then screams began to reverberate around the crowd, and several people began to flee. Some of the braver humans, however, had banded together, and encircled Mole.

 "Try that again, _freak," one of them snarled with undisguised hatred._

 "OK," said Mole.

He punched another human, who was sent crashing through the window of the TV shop.

 "Get him!"

The rest of them plunged towards Mole, just as Scarab got into position. Grabbing one human by the waist, Scarab flung him aside, and the human screamed as he flew through the air to hit a shop front across the street. The rest of the humans lost their nerve, and began to back away, looking for a way to escape. I glanced around me to admire the disorder. Humans were running in all directions, fleeing from the scene, terror overriding any logical thought, turning a busy shopping street into a stampede. I heard a cry, and glanced over. The woman I had seen earlier was looking around frantically; she had lost her baby in the chaos. Gemini and Vertigo had hurried forward to attack the few remaining humans who surrounded Mole. 

 I could see the baby, lying helplessly on its back several yards away from its mother, in danger of being crushed in the panic. Without knowing what I was doing, I instinctively ran over and scooped up the infant in my arms. Its tiny hand clutched at the material of my jacket, and in terror it buried its head in my chest. I looked around for the mother. I could see Gemini, with her duplicate summoned to her side, fighting a one-sided battle against a human. I could see Vertigo, performing extravagant back-flips and mid-air somersaults, astonishing the humans with his agility and flexibility, never allowing them to get close enough to touch him. I could see Atlas, using his power to rip up large sections of the pavement, hurling them about in the hope of hitting a human, adding to the chaos. I could see the mother. She was still searching frantically for the baby, screaming its name, tears in her eyes. I hurried over towards her, and her body sagged with relief when she saw her child in my arms.

 "Oh, thank you, thank you," she breathed, taking the baby. "Oh, my baby. You saved my baby. How can I – "

When she looked up, I was gone. I didn't want any of my Brothers or Sisters to see what I'd just done. I still couldn't explain why I'd done it. I'd saved a human's life. Why had I done that? I was sworn to the destruction of humanity. Wasn't I? Yes I was, but only as a means to an end. My real priority was the protection of mutant life, the protection of children and young people who couldn't help the way they'd been born. The protection of innocents. I'd saved an innocent, if a human could be called such a thing. I didn't know what to make of it. I didn't want to give it any more thought, so I didn't. 

 Cassandra was in the fight now, backing away from two humans, one of whom was holding a knife, making threatening stabbing motions. I ran over to help my girlfriend.

 "Come on, freak," the human taunted. "What's the matter; have your stupid _powers stopped working?"_

He slashed at her with the blade, but Cassandra was already moving to avoid his attack. The other human aimed a punch at her face, but she foresaw it and ducked out of the way. With a vicious downwards swipe, I karate chopped the first human, hearing the _snap_ as I broke his knife arm. He screamed and dropped the weapon, sinking to his knees, holding his ruined arm to his side. The other sub-creature grabbed for the knife, but Cassandra had quite literally seen it coming, and she kicked the knife away. She could have picked it up and used it herself, but mutants didn't use weapons. We didn't need them. The humans took one look at us, then turned and fled. I was about to pursue them, when Cass put her hand on my arm and hissed, "Wait!"

 "What is it?"

 "We've got to go! The X-Men are coming!"

 "_What?"_

 "I can foresee it! They must have found out what's going on! They'll be here in five minutes, maybe less!"

I'd forgotten the X-Men were based in New York too. With that jet of theirs, they could get here in no time. 

 "We've got to go!" Cassandra urged. "We can't fight them without Pyro and Recyclo!"

I was caught in my own indecision. I wasn't afraid of the X-Men, and I would have been willing to stay and face them. But with two of our strongest fighters missing, it probably wasn't a good idea. And if our enemies had my sister with them…things would be heavily stacked in their favour. Eventually I made up my mind.

 "All right; tell the others!" I said.  "I'll grab Vertigo and tell him to get the chopper started!"

She nodded, and hurried over towards our friends. I looked around for Vertigo. He was the only one, other than Pyro, who knew how to pilot the helicopter. He was further down the street from me, and there were still three or four humans trying to get a hold of him. He ducked, swerved, rolled, and back-flipped with impossible speed and grace, always leaving the humans attacking thin air. Eventually he got tired of showboating, and decided to end the fight. He flipped backwards over a pair of humans, hitting the two of them simultaneously with his fists. They stumbled and fell, and Vertigo immediately ducked a punch from another sub-creature, twisting to kick the human in the jaw. He was waiting for the humans to get back on their feet, when I ran over to him.

 "Vertigo!" I called. "The X-Men are coming! Get the chopper started!"

He gave an exasperated sigh, "They would come and spoil our fun, wouldn't they? All right, you'd better get the others! Meet me at the chopper!"

Vertigo hurried off, and I turned round to look for the rest of my friends. Cassandra had grabbed Atlas and Scarab, and the three of them were following Vertigo at a run. Mole and Gemini must have been elsewhere, still in the fight. I had to find them, and we had to get away before our enemies arrived. We couldn't afford to have anybody captured. If the X-Men captured even one of us, then my telepathic father or sister would read their mind, and discover everything we were planning. That was not acceptable.

 Mole was still in the middle of a crowd of humans, whose superior size and numbers were beginning to give them the edge. Gemini and her twin weren't far away, battling with another group of the sub-creatures.

 "Freeze!" a voice yelled from the side.

I looked over. A group of heavily armed policemen were spilling out of a van that had just pulled up at the side of the road. They wore protective body armour, and were raising their weapons to aim at my friends.

 "Mole! Gemini!" I yelled.

The humans surrounding my friends melted away, leaving an open line of fire for the police officers. Clearly their orders were to shoot mutants on sight, as at least three of them began firing automatic weapons. Both of my friends were caught by surprise, but both managed to react in time to save their lives. Mole was lucky that he was a small enough target, and he raised both fists in front of his head to protect himself. Bullets ricocheted off his adamantium knuckles, and he began to run to safety. Gemini's method of survival was similar; her duplicate had stepped in front of her, shielding her from the bullets. Although she always felt the duplicate's pain, damage to its body didn't harm the original Gemini in any way. The first salvo of gunfire hit the duplicate multiple times in the head and chest, and she was thrown to the ground. The real Gemini was running as fast as she could away from the policemen. Once she reached the safety of the crowd of humans, the pigs would have to stop firing in case they hit one of their own kind.

 It looked as if she was going to make it, when she suddenly stumbled over an uneven section of the road, and lost her balance, falling on to her front.

 "Drop her!" one of the cops yelled.

I was jolted into action. I had to do something to save Gemini, who was still struggling to get to her feet. Time seemed to move in slow motion as I desperately tried to think of something. I was too far away from the cops to get to them in time. There had to be something else I could do to stop them. Something, _anything_ at all Beside me was a lamp-post, partially ripped out of the ground by Atlas' earlier assaults on the pavement slabs. Gripping it with both hands, I pulled with all my strength, and with a grunt of exertion I managed to rip it free. The cops were reloading their weapons and aiming at Gemini, who was still out in the open. There was only one thing I could do.

 With all the might I could muster, I swung my arms and hurled the lamp-post at them. It sailed through the air, spinning as it went, and a couple of the more observant pigs screamed just before it landed on top of them, crushing their van. The humans in the crowd, who'd assumed that the police had succeeded in restoring order, began to panic afresh. I hurried over towards Gemini, grabbed her hand, and pulled her to safety. Mole was ahead of us, pushing through the crowd, heading for the helicopter. As we turned the corner that took us off the main street, I took one last glance behind me. The pigs were still trapped underneath the uprooted lamp-post. Their van was completely wrecked, and most of them appeared to have injuries. As far as I could tell, none of them were dead. I didn't care. Killing them hadn't been my priority - saving my friends' lives had. These humans would be punished soon enough for trying to kill us. I turned back to face the way we were going.

 Right into more trouble. Mole had already stopped up ahead; the crowd of humans was hurrying away, and I immediately saw why. The X-jet was in the process of performing a vertical landing in the road directly in our path. Gemini saw it and her eyes went wide, as she instinctively clutched at my arm.

 "What do we do?" she gasped.

 "Run for it!" Mole yelled.

Like a sprinter taking off from the starting block, he sped across the road, ducking underneath the descending jet, making it safely to the other side. Gemini and I, who hadn't reacted quite as quickly, were still stuck with our enemies between us and our escape.

 "What do we do?" Gemini repeated urgently, her hold on my arm tightening. "We can run round, but they'll see us!"

 "Not if I can help it. Gemini, just hold still and keep quiet, all right? I've got a plan, so just – just keep quiet, OK?"

Gemini didn't look confident, but she put her trust in me, and made no noise. I concentrated as hard as I could, and called on my camouflage mutation. It took plenty of concentration to use it even when I wasn't in danger, and I was glad that Gemini had listened to me, and wasn't fidgeting or making any distracting sounds. My camouflage activated, and my body went into a chameleonic state. 

_Concentrate_, I told myself, _keep__ it going…_

I pushed my power as far as I could, concentrating like mad. It wasn't enough just to make myself invisible. I had to hide Gemini too. I held her hand tightly, and my power passed from my skin on to hers. For a moment nothing happened, as my concentration wavered, then Gemini's body disappeared from my sight as my mutation spread to camouflage her body too. She gave a slight gasp as she realised what had happened, but had enough common sense to stand still and keep quiet, her hand still holding on to mine.

 The jet had executed a perfect landing in front of us, and the embarkation ramp was lowering.

 "Are you ready?" I whispered. "Let's go."

She nodded, and we began to run as fast as we could, along a path that would take us around the jet. Gemini was shaking nervously and her hand was slick with sweat. I kept a tight hold of her, knowing that if we were separated she would become visible once more, and our enemies would be after us. We were past the jet now and I chanced a glance behind me to see what was going on. There were there or four X-Men at the foot of the ramp – in a split second the only one I could recognise was Cyclops – and they were heading in the wrong direction. I breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn't detected us. Even though we were invisible, we were still susceptible to Wolverine's animal senses. Maybe he wasn't with them.

 We turned a corner, and the helicopter was hovering in front of us, Vertigo having brought it as far forward as he safely could. I dropped my camouflage, and Mole flung open the chopper's hatch as we hurried up to them. I gave Gemini a boost to climb inside, then someone grabbed my hand and helped me up.

 "Go!" yelled Mole.

Vertigo hit the controls, and the helicopter turned to head in the direction of home. He kept the chopper low, so that our enemies couldn't detect us on radar. If the X-Men were able to follow us and find out where we were based, it would be a disaster. We couldn't allow them to find us. According to Pyro our enemies actually knew of the island sanctuary's existence, but they believed it to have been abandoned for years. We had no secondary base of operations – Pyro was working on finding one – and we couldn't afford to be discovered.

 Nothing untoward happened during our journey home. Presumably the X-Men had been too concerned with calming the humans on the ground, and hadn't been aware of our escape. They would work out it was us – the humans would describe our powers to them – and they'd be as determined as ever to get in our way and stop what we were doing.

 "How the hell did they get there so fast?" Mole was demanding angrily. "We were only there for about fifteen minutes before they showed up!"

 "Their jet is supersonic," I reminded him. "And they _are_ based right here in New York."

 "I know, but still…they couldn't have got ready and got out here _that fast!"_

For a moment nobody spoke, then Gemini said slowly, "So…what are you saying? That somebody told them we were coming here?"

 "Well…no. I mean, who knew? I – I dunno. Maybe you're right."

He fell silent, and I raised my eyebrows thoughtfully. Mole did have a point. Our enemies _had_ got here pretty fast. Theoretically they could have done it, but it would have taken time for them to find out what was happening, and get kitted up, and get their jet ready, and get out here. It didn't seem likely. The X-Men didn't exactly sit around on 24 hour alert, waiting for Brotherhood incidents to erupt. They had their own lives to lead, and their school to look after. 

 Unless…my sister. She was telepathic. What if she had sensed our presence? What if she had detected our minds, read our intentions, and warned the other X-Men? No. Their school was still miles away from where we'd been. Her telepathy didn't stretch that far, unless she was using the Cerebro device. And the chances of her using it at that exact moment were slim.

 "Maybe we were just unlucky," Cassandra suggested. "Perhaps they were already in the jet – on their way back from somewhere, maybe. They got word of what was going on, and were already on their way."

 "Yeah, could be," said Atlas, but he didn't sound confident.

Vertigo sighed, "Relax, you guys. How could they have known in advance where we'd be? They just got lucky. I mean, the only explanation would be if somebody sold us out. But like Mole said, nobody knew we were coming except us."

Gemini's eyes narrowed momentarily, then her expression returned to normal. What was she thinking?

 "What's on your mind?" I asked her.

She looked up, "Huh? Oh, nothing really. I just had a crazy thought."

 "What?"  
 "That one of us warned the X-Men we were coming here."

 "That's ridiculous!" Mole retorted.

 "I know it is!" Gemini snapped. "I said it was a crazy thought, didn't I? I know none of us is a traitor. I know we all hate humans because of what they've done to us."

I nodded. Cassandra said hesitantly, "Still…suppose they _do have some – method – of knowing where we'll be in advance? We'd better tell Pyro, just in case."_

 "Yeah," said Gemini. "I doubt he'll be pleased. Vertigo, did you actually ask Pyro if we could take the helicopter out today?"

 "Um – not really."

 "Not really?"

 "All right, I didn't."

 "Why not?"

Vertigo shrugged, "I thought he might say no."

Atlas groaned. I sighed. Gemini leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, "Oh, great. As if our exalted leader wasn't in a bad enough mood already."

 "Where you have been?!" Pyro demanded as we stepped out of the helicopter.

 "On the mainland," I said.

 "Without letting me know where you were going? I suppose this was your idea, Vertigo!"

Vertigo jumped from the chopper on to the ground, and eyed Pyro lazily, "Yeah."

Our leader berated him angrily, "How many times do I have to tell you to ask me before taking the helicopter? What if something happened and I had to evacuate? What if we came under attack and I didn't know where any of you were?"

 "Well, we're alive, aren't we?"

 "Shut up!"

The rest of us began to edge away, leaving Vertigo to calm down our irate leader.

 "So where did you go? What did you do?" Pyro demanded.

 "Nothing much. We went to the mainland, found some humans, knocked about said humans, then ran away before the X-Men could catch us."

 "The X-Men were there? What if you'd been captured? Everything we've worked for would have been for nothing if they'd caught you!"

Vertigo shrugged, "Yeah, well they didn't, did they?"

 "Not this time! What if you're not so lucky next time?"

Vertigo gave another casual shrug. Pyro shook his head in exasperation, sighing heavily. He gave up. There was just no point in trying to reprimand Vertigo. The guy simply didn't care, and wouldn't bow to anyone's authority. Pyro gave another sigh, "All right, forget it. The main thing is that you're all safe. OK, tonight's training session is cancelled. Instead I'll be briefing and preparing you for a mission we're going on tomorrow. Meet me in an hour."

He turned and left.

 "Oops," Vertigo said, when Pyro was gone.

 "Yeah, nice going," said Gemini sarcastically. "Remind me never to go along with your ideas again."

 "Never mind. Let's get something to eat," said Scarab.

 "Yeah."

We headed inside, and I went up to my room to wash the dust and dirt off my hands and out of my hair after the action earlier. Idly I began to wonder what it was that Pyro wanted to talk to us about. A mission of some sort. I was intrigued. It would be my first experience of such a thing. Since I'd joined the Brotherhood we'd seen no real action, just training exercises and the occasional lecture on topics he felt were important. Most of us were beginning to get a little restless, and I was looking forward to whatever was going to happen tomorrow.

 I went back downstairs to find the others gathered in the kitchen/living room area, sitting around the small wooden table in the centre of the room, eating a large pizza out of a box. When I'd first arrived here I'd been quite puzzled as to where our food came from – obviously we didn't grow all of it ourselves, and there were no shops on the island. I'd asked Vertigo, whose brief, lazy response had been, "Monthly deliveries – big freezer," and so it had turned out. Atlas, who enjoyed working with the earth, kept a garden near the sanctuary, where we got fresh fruit and vegetables, and it was a surprisingly problem-free arrangement.

 Gemini, who had changed into a close-fitting, light blue summer dress that accentuated her small figure perfectly, sat on the sofa with her bare legs tucked under her, and was clearly the centre of attention. Mole sat beside her, casually draping his arm over the back of the sofa behind her. Obviously the next step was to put his arm around her shoulders. He was trying to be subtle about it and failing miserably. Gemini wasn't interested, and she pushed his arm away.

 "And you can stop trying to peek up my dress, Atlas!" she snapped suddenly.

Atlas, across the room from her, jumped in surprise and protested his innocence, "I – I wasn't!"

She gave a little smirk. I knew she loved winding them up, playing hard to get, trying to fluster them. I couldn't imagine why. But then, she was a girl, and girls did weird things like that. Well, some girls - not all of them. Cassandra smiled up at me as I entered, and moved over to give me room to squeeze into the armchair beside her.

 "Hey, Vertigo," said Scarab. "You never told Pyro about how the X-Men got there so quickly today. Remember?"

Vertigo looked up from where he was lazily slouched sideways in another armchair, his eyes half-closed as if he was falling asleep, "Mmm? Oh, yeah. Oh, I'll tell him when we see him later. If I remember."

 "I wonder what it is Pyro wants to tell us," I said.

 "It'll be the usual," Vertigo yawned. "Some motivational speech about why we have to destroy humanity. Doesn't Pyro ever realise that he's preaching to the converted? He must know that we already hate the humans."

 "Inspiration's lost on you, clearly," said Cassandra.

 "Huh. The need for food and water is all that gets Vertigo out of bed in the morning," said Gemini.

Vertigo grinned, then yawned again, stretching his arms, "I'm sorry, but when you share a room with Recyclo, that's what happens to you. Where is old Mr Excitement, anyway?"

 "Dunno," said Scarab. "Haven't seen him since we got back."

 "Atlas!" Gemini snapped. "If you want to see my panties that badly, I'll lend you a pair!"

 "I wasn't – I wasn't looking!" Atlas said hurriedly. "I wouldn't – I'd never – "

Gemini giggled; she loved baiting Atlas. It wasn't really that difficult when he was clearly mesmerised by her. He flushed and looked away from her, very deliberately keeping his eyes from going anywhere near her legs.

 "What does Recyclo actually _do_ in his spare time?" Mole asked. "When we're around, he just stands there and says nothing. What does he do when we're not there?"

 "He reads," said Vertigo. "Given that there's a finite supply of books on the island, he must be going over them again and again; either that or he's a very, _very slow reader."_

Gemini gave a laugh. Vertigo sighed, "It's all right for you, you've got a room to yourself. You don't have to share with someone who makes Pyro look cheerful."

 "That's the privilege of being a girl," said Gemini. "I don't have to share with any of _you."_

Cassandra spoke up, "I don't mind sharing with Gladiator."

 "Yeah, well, it's different when you're in love, isn't it?"

 "I guess."

I slipped my arm around Cassie and she smiled, resting her body against mine. I leaned over slightly to kiss her lips softly, and she put a hand on the back of my neck gently, holding me close. Ignoring Gemini making puking noises, we came together again, and shared another kiss. A warm feeling of elation spread out from my heart, enveloping the rest of my body, and I basked in the love Cassandra and I were sharing. This was perfect harmony; this was bliss. I didn't care what else happened, or what became of us; as long as I had my love by my side, I would always be happy. Humans had killed the only other girl I had ever loved. I would do everything in my considerable power to protect Cassandra, to keep her and my happiness alive and intact. A world without Cassandra did not bear thinking about. A world without Marina was bad enough already. I would never forgive the humans for her death. 

 Never.

A/N: again, if there's enough people interested, I'll post the next chapter

A/N 2: thanks to everyone who's responded re my request for pictures. When the website is up and running, I'll post the link. Again, drop me an email if you're interested. 


	3. Uncertainty

Chapter Three  
  
"All right, let's get started."  
  
That was the cue for Vertigo to slouch down in his seat, partly closing his eyes, clearly not expecting to be inspired. Pyro ignored him, and went on, "First of all, you'll be glad to know that we're going to see some action at last. I know you've been pretty bored these last couple of weeks, but the training we've been doing is essential. Since losing Overlord, we've had to change our tactics quite a bit."  
  
Nobody's expression really changed. None of us had really liked Overlord. I hadn't had a chance to get to know him, but from what Cassie had told me he'd been arrogant, dismissive of others, and had treated her like his private property even though she made it clear she didn't like him.   
  
Pyro switched on the projector on the table beside him. An image of a multi-storey, glass-fronted building shone on to the wall facing us, and we gave it a quick glance before returning our attention to our leader.  
  
"Tomorrow's mission is simple," he said. "We go in, we kill any security personnel, we plant explosives, and we get out. Our target," he pointed to the image on the wall, "is the research facility you see here. It's in New York City, and the work being done there has to be stopped, for the sake of our species. They are developing something they call 'mutant detectors'. Now, as you know, there are already devices in all major hospitals, which can determine whether a new-born baby is a mutant or a human…"  
  
Several of my friends squirmed and looked uncomfortable; their families had abandoned them because of what those very machines had revealed. Pyro went on, "We believe these human researchers are trying to develop more advanced versions which will be cheaper, more portable, and able to identify any adult mutant. The government plan to install them in all important civic buildings. As hard as we tried, fooling them would be impossible. I don't have to tell you the effect these machines would have. Mutants' lives simply wouldn't be worth living. We'd be refused entry to schools, shops, hospitals, courthouses, orphanages; basically it'd be impossible for us to have any kind of life at all. In other words, it's the humans' solution to what they call the 'mutant problem'. They can't kill us, because our powers protect us; they can't arrest us, because they don't know who we are. Instead, they will merely rob us of our rights and starve us to death."  
  
"Why do they do it?!" Gemini cried angrily. "I don't understand; why do humans hate us so much?"  
  
"Because they're scum," said Vertigo.  
  
"They're jealous of our powers," said Scarab.  
  
Recyclo glanced over, "They feel threatened. They don't trust us to use our powers responsibly."  
  
Atlas nodded. Cassandra shook her head and retorted, "Oh no, there's more to it than that. My human parents abandoned me the day I was born. They didn't do that because they were afraid of me. They did it because they didn't want to have a mutant child."  
  
"Same thing happened to me," Mole agreed, his eyes narrowed. "Human scum!"  
  
Pyro interrupted, "The same thing happened to all of you, one way or another. What happened to Gladiator - and what happened to me - was slightly different, but it all amounts to the same thing: coexistence with humans is not possible. One of us has to make way for the other. We are the future, and they are the past."  
  
I noticed the others exchanging intrigued glances. This was the first time I had ever heard Pyro talk about his past, why he had joined and ultimately become leader of the Brotherhood. He normally revealed very little about himself, and this was the first hint he had given as to what lay inside his heart. I wondered what had happened to him. What drove a man to leave the X-Men and go over to the other side? Well, nobody knew about that better than I did. I had switched sides because the humans had murdered Marina. After everything my parents, my sister, and the X-Men had told me about coexisting with humans, and why we should protect them - I had even believed them for a while - the humans had shown their true colours by killing, without provocation, an unarmed, defenceless fourteen year old girl.   
  
"Anyway," Pyro was saying. "Before you let me get side-tracked any more, back to the briefing. Our intelligence suggests that the building is well defended, with rigorous security protocols and dozens of armed security guards. This isn't normal for a research facility…perhaps they fear mutant attacks, and rightly so, but that amount of defence makes me think that they're hiding something else inside that facility. I don't know what it could be, but if it's a threat to us, it has to be destroyed."  
  
He paused, then continued, "Impressive as they might think their security to be, it won't be any match for us. Once they realise this, they'll summon an armed response unit, either from the police or the army, or both. It doesn't really matter. They're only human, and we'll destroy them as well. The only difficulty lies in the possibility of the X-Men making an appearance."  
  
"Are they likely to?" asked Recyclo. "If we're destroying a threat to mutant survival, surely they won't try to stop us."  
  
"Don't credit them with logic," Gemini said bitterly. "Humans can hurt us and mistreat us and kill us all they like, and the X-Men won't lift a finger. But the second we try to fight back and stand up for ourselves, they're all over us with their self-righteous crap and human-loving fantasies, forcing us to accept whatever the humans do to us."  
  
"Yes, well, those times are at an end," said Pyro. "We are stronger than we have ever been. We are at least as strong as they are, if not more so, now that we have Gladiator."  
  
"What about Oculus?" asked Gemini. "Gladiator's father. He's with the X-Men - isn't he supposed to be the most powerful mutant in the world?"  
  
Pyro looked at me. I said, "My dad renounced battle before I was even born. He hasn't used his powers in years. He won't be a threat to us. My sister, on the other hand - "  
  
I hesitated. I wasn't happy talking about this. It was the only uncertainty I had about the success of our plans. The others looked at me, willing me to continue.   
  
"Well?" said Mole impatiently.  
  
"My sister and I both inherited my father's powers," I said. "She has four completely different mutations from the ones I have. I guess one of us is the strongest mutant alive…but I don't know which."  
  
"And she loves humans too?" asked Gemini.  
  
I sighed, and looked at the floor, "Yes. She's always gone along with the crazy fantasies our enemies have. And don't look at me like that! I'm not proud of my family's allegiance!"  
  
Gemini looked like she wanted to say more, but Pyro interrupted, "So there you have it. There is only one possible threat to our success. It's not an ideal situation, but it's a lot better than how things looked a month ago. And a month from now, if all goes according to plan, there will be no humans left in the world."  
  
Cassandra smiled, and she leaned closer to me, her fingers intertwining with mine on the seat between us.  
  
"We'll leave at noon tomorrow," Pyro said. "Recyclo has downloaded plans of the facility, and maps of the surrounding area, if you want to look at those and come up with any suggestions. Otherwise I've got everything more or less planned out. The building has only one entrance, so once we've killed off the humans we'll have to hold a position there, in case we need to make a quick getaway. I've identified the areas where the explosives should be placed. We also need to check the research labs on the upper levels, to find out if the humans are hiding something."  
  
He paused, "Any questions?"  
  
"What if the X-Men do show up?" asked Gemini.  
  
Cassandra nodded, "Yeah, Pyro, we forget to tell you earlier, but today they arrived on the scene far more quickly than they should have done. We're not sure if we were just unlucky, or if – well, it was almost as if they knew we were going to be there."  
  
Pyro frowned.  
  
"Gemini thinks one of us sold us out to the X-Men," said Vertigo.  
  
"No I don't!" Gemini snapped. "That was just a stupid idea I had! I was just trying to think of some explanation!"  
  
"We thought we'd better mention it to you," I said to Pyro. "We weren't sure what to make of it."  
  
Pyro narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "You say it was almost as if they knew you were coming. Unless they have discovered a mutant with the same power of foresight as Cassandra – which is unlikely – I don't see how they could have known."  
  
"Unless there is a traitor among us," said Atlas – ever the paranoid one – uncertainly.  
  
"Impossible. I know everyone in this room is fully committed to the ideals of the Brotherhood. I have seen you all suffer at the hands of humanity. I know none of you would betray us to our enemies."  
  
Vertigo shrugged, "Gemini, what made you think there might be a traitor?"  
  
Gemini fiddled with the shoulder strap of her dress, and looked away, "I dunno. I told you, I didn't really think there was one. It was just an idea that came to me. I mean, there were times when I didn't really trust Gladiator. But then I saw what the humans did to that friend of his, and the way he reacted – nobody could have faked that. And the rest of us have all fought against the X-Men at their mansion. If anyone was going to sell us out, they'd have done it then."  
  
"Agreed," said Pyro. "No more useless speculation. We'll assume they just got lucky today. In answer to the earlier question, if they arrive on the scene, we face them. We'll be at full strength, and there are only eight of them, so we should be able to overcome them. Remember – do not kill them. We never kill other mutants. They have as much of a right to life as we do, even if they are using it to do wrong. When the humans are wiped out, maybe the X-Men will see the error of their ways, or maybe not. In any case, they must be allowed to live to see that day."  
  
He sounded confident enough about facing them in battle, but I wasn't so sure. There were only eight adult X-Men, but what if they brought my sister with them? It was unlikely that they would do so, since she was only 16, and the X-Men didn't like to put children in the front line if it could be avoided. But still…if they felt they needed her along…things might very quickly go against us. I had never matched myself against my sister, so I didn't know which of us was more powerful. I wasn't sure I wanted to find out in the middle of a battle we couldn't afford to lose.  
  
When I went to bed that night there was a strange feeling I had never experienced before. It was a curious blend of emotions. There was the obvious anticipation and wondering of what was going to happen tomorrow. There was a definite measure of uncertainty, as well as something else…fear? Was I afraid of what was going to happen? Was I afraid of the unknown? Was I afraid of potentially having to fight against my old teachers? Was I afraid that I was doing the wrong thing? I had to admit, there were still doubts in my heart about what we were doing. Maybe it was only my subconscious, harking back to all the things I had been taught at the school, telling me not to kill humans. Maybe I should just ignore it, and follow my instincts…but I still wasn't comfortable. Whenever I made an important decision or I had to determine a course of action, I always liked to be 100% certain that I had made the correct choice. It didn't feel right to be making this decision when a part of me still wasn't sure. Maybe that was part of growing up. Maybe that was part of becoming an adult, realising that choices weren't so simple any more, that the good and the bad aspects had to be weighed against each other, before the right conclusion could be reached. In this case, my instinct to protect my own kind was stronger than my slight misgivings about killing humans. But still…  
  
"Cassandra?" I said softly.  
  
I heard her stirring in her own bed a few feet away, and in the darkness came her voice, "Yeah?"  
  
"Do you ever think we're doing the wrong thing?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"By killing humans, I mean. Do you ever have doubts about it?"  
  
"Well…" she hesitated. "Yes and no. I think we've got the justification to do it, but…I think there's a part of me that just doesn't like killing. I mean, life is such a precious thing – once it's gone, it can't ever be brought back – and sometimes I wonder if…well…if we've got the right to take it away from somebody else."  
  
"I know what you mean."  
  
"You feel the same way?"  
  
I nodded, "Sometimes. Killing adult humans doesn't bother me. They've done so much to harm us. It's hurting children that bothers me. I know they're going to grow up and become mindless bigots, but…oh, I don't know…maybe it's just instinct. Maybe I've got some in-built aversion to hurting children."  
  
"I think everyone does. Every mutant, that is. Humans will happily hurt a child if it's a mutant."  
  
"Yeah. Sometimes I…sometimes I can't help agreeing with the stuff my sister and the X-Men believe. About trying to live with humans and educate them about our kind – "  
  
Cassandra interrupted, "I don't think you should let Pyro or anybody else hear you saying that."  
  
"Are you going to tell him?"  
  
"Of course not. I love you. In a way I see what you mean. In an ideal world, it would be nice to coexist in peace with humans. But a whole bunch of other things would be nice too, like getting rid of famine, war, disease, or even death. It's not going to happen. The X-Men just don't realise it, and they're risking mutant lives while they pursue their fantasies."  
  
"I suppose you're right."  
  
"And we know it will never happen because we've both seen what humans are like. They've done so much to both of us. I mean, sometimes I sit down and think – well, what if my family hadn't hated me, and had loved me in spite of what I am? Would I feel differently about humans?"  
  
"I doubt it. My family loved me and I still hate the sub-creatures."  
  
"I guess…"  
  
Neither of us said anything after that, and silence fell upon the room once more. I laid my head back on the pillow. I was restless, and couldn't seem to fall asleep. It was always the same the night before something important was due to happen; the excitement formed a tight knot in my stomach and I couldn't quite drop off. I shut my eyes and listened to the sounds of the night, idly trying to work out what they might be. There was the sound of rhythmic – and very loud – snoring from the next room. It was the biggest of the bedrooms, shared by Mole, Atlas and Scarab. One of them had to be making the noise. I could also make out the sound of footsteps, some way down the corridor, and the sound of a door opening and closing. That was probably Pyro – his room was further along from the rest of ours.  
  
"Hey – you still awake?" came Cassandra's voice.  
  
"Yeah. Can't sleep."  
  
"Me neither. I just can't get comfortable."  
  
I heard her turning over in bed and squirming, trying to get into a relaxed position.  
  
"Come and sleep next to me," I said.  
  
My mouth had spoken the words, but I had no idea where they had come from. They hadn't been the product of any logical thought on my part. I had made no conscious decision to say that. Some deep, instinctive part of my brain must have been responsible. Immediately I wished I could unsay those words. I had no idea how Cassandra was going to react. I doubted she'd be pleased. She hadn't said anything in response, but it was probably the surprise that was keeping her from saying anything right away.  
  
If she had been surprised, it wasn't as surprised as I was when I felt my duvet being lifted, a dark, warm shape slipping underneath, an arm sliding over my shoulder, and a pair of lips pressing softly against mine. For a moment I was too stunned and nervous to react, then I simply did what came naturally, putting my arm over Cassandra and returning her kiss. As we parted, she said breathlessly, "Are we doing what I think we're doing?"  
  
"I dunno – but whatever we're doing, let's do some more of it…"  
  
We kissed again, our bodies drawing closer, until we were pressed tightly against each other. It was the most incredible sensation I had ever experienced. My excitement level was rising higher than I had thought possible. My blood was racing through my veins with my heartbeat increasing rapidly. This was like going berserk – but at the same time it was so different. It was a completely different emotion – passion, not anger – that was driving me. I thrust myself towards her, and began kissing her with a renewed energy. Cassandra reciprocated, gently pushing me over on to my back, as she lifted her leg and moved on top of me. I had both arms around her now, pulling her down to kiss her once more.  
  
She hesitated. Her hold on me slackened, as she began trying to pull free. Reluctantly, I let go.  
  
"What's wrong?" I whispered. "Did I hurt you?"  
  
"No," she said quickly. "It was – it was nothing you did. It's just I – I don't want to go that far. Not right now. I mean, we are only fourteen. And I don't want to get pregnant."  
  
"Yeah. You're right. I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong."  
  
"But some day…"  
  
"Yeah…some day. Come on, we need to get to sleep, or we'll regret it during the mission tomorrow."  
  
She kissed me once more on the cheek, then settled down beside me, nestling her head against my shoulder, draping her arm loosely across my chest. It felt strange having her there – it was the first time we'd been together in bed – but at the same time it felt – well, right. It didn't feel uncomfortable or unnatural to have her lying against me – it felt as if she was where she should be, as if there had been a huge gap before that had just been filled. I soon forgot how restless and uncomfortable I had been before – with Cassie beside me, how could I possibly not be comfortable? I put my arm over her, marvelling at how wonderfully soft and warm she was – then I shut my eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.  
  
I next woke some time during the night. I didn't know what time it was, but my throat felt dry and I decided to get a glass of water. Taking care not to disturb the sleeping form of Cassandra, gently lifting her arm aside, I got out of bed and left the room, heading for the kitchen. In the darkness it wasn't easy to find my way, but I had reasonably good night vision, and I manage to avoid bumping into anything. I entered the kitchen, my bare feet padding silently across the floor, and I went over to the sink to fill a glass. I sipped it slowly, glad it was a warm night.  
  
It was then that I heard the noise. At first it didn't register in my tired, sleep-addled brain, then it came again and this time I was aware of it. What was it? I couldn't tell exactly. Was it coming from the pipes or something? Could it be the wind? No. It wasn't a regular kind of noise, so it couldn't be any kind of ambient sound. There was something pronounced, something deliberate about it. There had to be somebody making it. But what was it? As I thought about it, my brain woke up a little, and I realised what the sound was. It was the sound of somebody typing at a computer keyboard. It had to be coming from the computer room. Ordinarily I wouldn't have overheard anything from there, but in the middle of the night when there was no other sound, it was a different matter.  
  
Who was using the computer at this time of night? Was it Scarab or Mole trying to secretly use the Internet to look at dirty pictures? Was it Pyro, going over the schematics of the target building one more time? Was it somebody who, like me, hadn't been able to sleep, and was whiling away the hours on the computer? My curiosity piqued, I decided to find out. Putting my empty glass down next to the sink, I left the kitchen and turned the corner to the computer room. There was a light on inside, so somebody must have been in there. There was no sound coming from the room now.  
  
I pushed open the door and walked in. The room was empty. I frowned. I knew I'd heard somebody in here, and I'd have heard if somebody had left the room. Strange – there was nobody there now. The computer was switched on, though. I glanced at the screen to see what the mystery person had been doing. There was some kind of E-mail package running, and an on-screen prompt that read: Send Message? (OK/Cancel). Weird…who would be sending an E-mail? None of us had friends or associates outside the Brotherhood. I decided to read the E-mail and find out what it was. Hitting the Cancel option, I brought up the text of the E-mail. It read simply: For the attention of the X-Men. The Brotherhood's next target is the Carlson and Berg research institute, map reference…  
  
On the computer screen, I saw the reflection of something moving behind me. That was the only warning I got before something slammed into the side of my head, knocking me off balance. Caught by surprise, I stumbled and fell to the floor. My fighting instincts took over, and I rolled over, getting to my feet instantly, both fists clenched and ready to defend myself. Before I could get my bearings, however, something metallic slammed into my face with immense force. I was thrown backwards into the wall, feeling no pain, but the shock threatened to send me unconscious, and I wavered, seeing stars before my eyes. Struggling to get back up, trying to use energy that had been stunned out of me, was obviously too much. I felt blackness creeping into my vision, and I slumped to the floor, out for the count. 


	4. The Demon amongst the Angels

Chapter Four

 I woke with a start. Jolting into a sitting position, my fists clenched, my lungs preparing to launch a jet of flame, I looked around for my attacker. Wait a minute…I wasn't in the computer room. I was in my own room. I was…still in bed. I blinked. Hadn't I just been – or was I – had it all been a dream? I glanced down. Cassandra was still sleeping peacefully beside me, giving a contented sigh as she dreamed of something pleasant. I wondered what it might be. I was still confused about my own dream – or had it been real? It had _felt real enough – it hadn't been the kind of weird, other-world feeling that usually came with dreams. But not all dreams were like that – some felt as genuine as the real thing until you woke up. As I had just done._

 I shook my head to try and clear away the cobwebs that remained from sleep. I tried to get my thoughts in order. I had to think logically. Had I just gone through what I thought I had, or had I been asleep the whole time? There had to be a way to find out. That E-mail. The one I'd found on the computer – what if it was still there? I slipped out of bed, moving quietly so I didn't disturb my sleeping angel, and headed to the computer room. The door was ajar when I got there, and I could hear voices from inside. I went in.

 Pyro was at the computer, with Vertigo and Recyclo, studying the plans of the research institute we were going to destroy.

 "This looks like a way in here, wouldn't you say?" Vertigo was saying, pointing at the screen. "But it's not marked as an entrance anywhere – d'you think it could be a secret door?"

 "Or perhaps a door they sealed off once they no longer needed it," said Pyro. "Still, if we're in a tight spot and we need a way out, that could be it."

 "Hey guys," I said. "Um – any E-mails?"

I didn't want to tell them about my 'dream' right away, not until I had made up my mind whether or not it was real. If _I couldn't decide, it definitely wasn't a good idea to get anybody else confused. Recyclo hit a few keys on the keyboard, then shook his head, "No."_

 "You expecting anything?" asked Vertigo.

 "No, not really."

I glanced over Recyclo's shoulder, "Anything in Sent Items?"

 "Why?" he asked – deadpan, as always.

 "Just curious."

He clicked the mouse, then said, "No – it's empty too."

Looking at the screen, I saw he was right. No E-mails had been sent last night. Had I dreamed the whole thing? If the message had been there then, it should be there now. Unless, of course, whoever sent it had subsequently deleted it from record. Which they _would_ do, knowing I had read it. I walked from the room, if anything even more confused and indecisive than when I had gone in. I headed for the kitchen. Maybe something to eat would help my brain to think.

 The kitchen/living room area was empty when I got there. I was glad. I wanted to be alone to think. I couldn't be bothered preparing anything as complicated as a bowl of cereal at this time in the morning, so I grabbed an apple and wandered into the living room. I'd thought I was the only one in the room. A small sound coming from the sofa told me I was wrong. I stopped, and could hear a sob, following by ragged breathing, followed by another sob. Somebody was crying. It sounded like a girl. Was it Cassandra? Had I upset her last night by trying to make love to her? I doubted it. It hadn't been like that. She'd been the one to stop it, but I hadn't exactly had to drag her into my bed and hold her down in the first place. 

 It wasn't Cassandra. It was Gemini. As I reached the sofa, I looked down to see her curled up on one of the cushions, her face buried in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably, her tears dripping down to soak into the material of her thin white nightdress. I was surprised to say the least. This was not the Gemini I knew – the bubbly, confident, outgoing Gemini – this was a scared, upset, pathetic shadow of the girl I knew. I had never seen her like this before. Whatever could be wrong with her? She clearly didn't know I was there, and I felt a little awkward. I didn't want to say anything that might upset her further, but at the same time I could hardly walk away and leave my friend like this. I knelt beside the sofa, and said softly, "Gemini?"

She jolted as if she had been shot. For a moment she was so upset and shocked that she didn't know what to do, then she got control of herself, bringing her hands down to cover her bare legs, "I'm not dressed! Don't look!"

 "I'm not!"

 "You better not be. I can't sit down for five minutes without some creep trying to look between my legs!"

 "What's wrong with you?"

She snapped, "What are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with me! Leave me alone!"

 "Gemini – "

 "Go away!"

Whatever was hurting her, she obviously didn't want to share it, and was keeping it hidden behind a hostile exterior. It would have been easy for me to get up and walk away as she had asked, leaving her to sort it out herself. But I didn't. I couldn't. No guy could see a girl that upset without trying to help her in some way. And she was my friend. I cared about her. If I'd been that unhappy, I'd have wanted my friends there for me, wouldn't I?

 "Look, I know you don't want to tell me," I said. "But I can't sit here and do nothing while you're hurt that badly. I'm your friend and I want to help you."

She brought her knees up to her chin and hugged her legs, retorting angrily, "No you don't. You just want to get into my panties. Or preferably get _me_ out of them."

 "Gemini? Gemini, look at me."

At first she refused, then she seemed to relent and she glanced in my direction, dropping her gaze as soon as our eyes met. I put my hand gently under her chin, lifting her face until our eyes met again. She looked away unhappily, and pushed my hand away from her.

 "I don't know what you think of me," I said. "But I can promise you one thing – two things. One, I am not the kind of person who lets my friends sit and suffer when I can help them. Two, although you are a stunningly beautiful girl, you're my friend first and foremost. I care far more about what's in your heart than what's between your legs."

 "Oh yeah," she said sarcastically. "I've heard that before."

 "So you don't believe me?"

She hesitated for a moment, and her tone softened a little, "It's nothing personal. But I've been fooled before into thinking guys cared about me, when all they wanted was my body."

 "Gemini, do you trust me?"

She looked away, and didn't answer.

 "Gemini?"

This time she snapped, "Of course I don't trust you! I don't trust any male! You're all the same; you're only after one thing!"

 "We're not all like that!"

 "Oh yes you are! All of you! Scarab, Mole, Atlas, Vertigo and you! Maybe not Recyclo but he's just weird! Now get out of here! Just _leave me alone_!"

I was half-expecting her to lash out and hit me, but her anger seemed to have burned up after this last outburst, and all that was left was a scared, empty shell of a girl. She looked away from me and said nothing. Her shoulders were shaking, and she was still deep in her misery and her trauma. I didn't trust myself to speak right away, but eventually I said quietly, "I only want to help you. I can't make up for anything that's happened to you in the past, but please just give me a chance."

She said nothing. I added, "If you really do want me to go and leave you alone, just say the words, and I'll go."

Gemini didn't reply. She continued staring at the floor, her body still trembling with emotion. I was getting uncomfortable kneeling there, and I shifted my weight. Gemini's hand shot out to grab my wrist, "Don't – don't go."

 "I wasn't."

 "Please stay."

 "OK."

Two or three minutes passed, with neither of us saying anything. Her hand moved from my wrist, down towards my hand, where her fingers closed around mine, and I held her hand, trying to reassure her. It seemed to work. Eventually Gemini wiped her tears away with her other hand, and swallowed, beginning to get herself under control.

 "OK," she said, her voice still a little shaky. "OK. If you want to know what's upsetting me, I'll tell you. But first, promise me you won't tell anyone else. I've never told anyone this before. Only Pyro knows."

 "I promise."

She believed me, "OK. In that case, I trust you. I – I don't really know how to tell you this, so I'll start right at the beginning. My story begins when I was born fourteen years ago. My parents knew I was a mutant; the hospital had one of those mutant detectors for new-born babies. My mother didn't want to have another girl and she didn't want a mutant baby – she wanted to abandon me. My dad wouldn't let her. My dad's the only decent human I've ever known. He didn't care what I was; he loved me because I was his child. My mother and sisters hated me, but my dad was always there to look after me and make sure I was treated properly."

 A single tear escaped from her eye and she wiped it away as she said in a voice shaking with emotion, "But – but my dad died when I was eight, just as I started having my first periods and discovering how to use my power. My mother wanted to throw me out on the street, but she couldn't. My dad was one step ahead of her, and his will stated that she could only inherit his money if she continued to look after me. She did, but for me it was a living hell. She fed me practically nothing and kept me locked in the house at all times. It was about then that I started using my power regularly – I'd hide somewhere and summon my duplicate. While my mother locked her inside my room, I'd run outside the house and get away from them for a while."

I squeezed her hand, encouraging her to go on. Gemini swallowed once more and said, "When my mother got a new job, she decided she didn't need the money from my father's will any more. She was going to throw me out of the house, when an offer came along she couldn't refuse. She'd made it known that she had a mutant child she wanted rid of, and – and this genetics researcher offered to _buy_ me. I couldn't believe it; I couldn't believe I was being bought and sold like a piece of livestock. Anyway, I thought life couldn't get any worse than it had been with my mother. I was wrong. The researcher was even worse. He kept me locked in an even tinier room; he wouldn't even let me wear any clothes, and he was constantly taking samples of my blood and – and my – and doing other stuff. I don't know how long I was there. I lost track of time. I lost track of the number of times I begged any God that might be out there to kill me. I stopped eating. They fed me through a tube. I don't know how long that went on for. I think my mind just shut down eventually, leaving me in some kind of vegetative state. The next thing I remember is Pyro. He got me out of there."

She smiled for the first time, "He brought me here and told me he would look after me. He gave me clothes; he gave me food; he gave me everything I have. Everything I have is his, and I'll do anything to help him."

I was amazed to feel a single tear running down my cheek. I shook my head slowly, "Gemini…that's the most terrible thing I've ever heard. I can't believe you're still together mentally, after all that."

Gemini exhaled heavily, as if the telling of her story had released a huge burden on her heart. She squeezed my hand, and she said nervously, "I'm – I'm glad I got that off my chest. Thank you – thank you for listening. I guess now you know why I hate humans so much. And why I hate any mutant who tries to protect them."

 "Yeah. I didn't think it would be possible for me to hate the scum any more than I already do – I guess I was wrong."

 "Hold me."

I did it without hesitation, putting my arms around Gemini and holding her gently, letting her feel safe and secure in my protection. We were pressed together, but there was nothing romantic about it. We were just friends, one helping the other get over her painful memories. They would never go away, they would always haunt her, but with the help and support of her friends, Gemini might be able to crowd them out with happier memories of her new life. 

 Eventually we pulled apart, and she gave a giggle, "Now, we'd better go and get dressed before Cassandra walks in and sees us together wearing not very much."

I smiled, and gave her hand a last squeeze before standing up and heading for the doorway. Gemini remained where she was, but more relaxed and content now that she had been when I had walked in. I was glad that I had been able to help her. It made me feel special somewhere on the inside of my heart. I could heal people, in a way, not just hurt them. I turned round to look at Gemini once more – a happier Gemini who smiled back at me – as I walked through the kitchen. At that moment something in the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I turned to face it.

 The glass beside the sink. The one I had used last night, when I had got up to have a drink of water. When I had heard the noises from the computer room, and gone to investigate. And found the E-mail addressed to the X-Men. And been hit on the back of the head. It _hadn't been a dream! It had been real! The glass was sitting there, exactly where I had left it the night before. I ran for the computer room._

 "Pyro!" I shouted, as I pushed the door open.

Only Recyclo sat inside the room, typing at the computer, his fingers moving with unbelievable speed over the keys. He appeared to be typing by touch alone – without looking at the keyboard – something I'd always thought was a myth.

 "Hey – where's Pyro?" I asked.

 "Helicopter pad."

I ran from the room and down the corridor to the nearest exit. Throwing the door open, I could see the helicopter ahead of me, sitting on its pad. Vertigo was refuelling it while Pyro was in the cockpit, probably performing engine checks.

 "Pyro!" I yelled as I approached.

He looked round as he heard his name, and pushed open the cockpit door, "What?"

 "We have a problem."

 "Tell me again, tell me everything you saw."

I told him. I was now certain I had not been dreaming. I didn't know how I'd managed to get back into bed after being knocked out – maybe I'd been half-asleep and it hadn't registered in my memory – but everything else fitted now. 

 "Damn it!" Pyro swore as I finished.

 "What does this mean?" asked Vertigo.

 "That one of us is a two-faced human-loving piece of – " Mole began furiously, when Pyro waved him to silence.

 "All right, this means we have to change our plans," our leader decided. "If the X-Men will be lying in wait for us at noon, we'll leave an hour early – 11 instead of 12. By the time our enemies get there, we'll have been and gone."

Atlas nodded. Gemini said, "So if there's a traitor – and now it seems there is – how do we know who it is?"

 "We don't," said Pyro. "It could be any one of us."

He looked around at eight of us, the entire Brotherhood, as he said angrily, "I have trusted all of you. I have helped all of you make something of your lives, and this is how one of you chooses to repay me. I _will get to the bottom of this. From now on, the computer room is off limits to everyone except me. I will not take the risk of further information being compromised to our enemies."_

I glanced briefly at the rest of them, asking myself the question I was sure the rest of them – except one – were asking: who could it be? Which of us was secretly an X-Man sympathiser? I knew I could scratch one name off the list instantly. Gemini had told her story from the heart earlier – not even the most talented actress on Earth could have faked that. That had been genuine pain. She could not be the one. What about the rest?

 Mole? No. I had seen him fighting against the humans the day before on the mainland. Again, nobody could have faked the ferocity and venom with which he fought.

 Scarab? Possibly. I didn't know very much about him. He didn't seem like the brightest, and any kind of deception might have been beyond him…unless that too was a deception!

 Cassandra? As much as I hated to think of my love in this way, I couldn't automatically rule her out. We had spoken at length last night on our feelings about the human situation, and she had admitted to some reluctance when it came to killing them. Surely if she were the traitor she would not have said that, to avoid attracting suspicion to herself. I hoped that were so.

 Vertigo? No. He simply didn't care about anyone or anything – that was the impression he gave anyway – and was chronically lazy. I just couldn't see him going out of his way for any particular cause.

 Atlas? Well…maybe. It would certainly explain why he was always so nervous and looking over his shoulder all the time. Being a spy would make anyone paranoid. Could that be the rather obvious explanation? Was there anyone else? Oh – Recyclo. It didn't seem possible. I'd seen Recyclo kill plenty of humans in situations where merely injuring them might have had the same effect. For this reason, surely he couldn't be an X-Man in disguise, no matter how strange and emotionless he might be.

 There was one other suspect: me. I obviously knew I was not guilty, but the others didn't know that. I had even been with the X-Men once, and for all my friends knew I could have been a spy planted in their midst. I could have lied about last night to try and push suspicion away from me. I knew I'd have to convince my Brothers and Sisters that I was not the one.

 "Right," Pyro interrupted our thoughts. "Before we all go off into wild conspiracy theories and start accusing each other, let me make one thing clear: nothing has changed. We will not allow this to get in the way of the plans we have made. Suspicion and mistrust will tear us apart. Our traitor will make a mistake before long, and woe betide him – or her – when that day comes. In fact, my advice now would be for that person to get out of here while he – or she – still can."

Nobody said anything. Pyro said, "Our mission goes ahead as planned, but one hour earlier than originally agreed. That leaves us one hour from now to prepare. Everyone get ready. Meet me at the helicopter at five minutes to eleven."

 We were both a bit subdued when we went back to our room. Cassandra was avoiding my eyes, and I hers, and neither of us was willing to say anything to break the ice that had formed between us, between all of us. I knew that she might well be thinking I was the traitor, and it was a logical conclusion for her to make. I had been with the enemy once, and last night she had heard me speaking of my discomfort at killing human children and babies. Was that what she was thinking? If so, I had to get things straightened out as soon as possible. Suspicion of each other would tear our relationship apart. I didn't want to lose Cassandra. I had already lost one love through my inability to save her. I wasn't going to lose another.

 "Cassandra?" I said uncertainly.

She looked up, "Gladiator?"

I stepped close to her and took her hands, holding them in mine, "Do you think I'm the one giving information to the X-Men?"

 "No," she said quickly – too quickly. "No, it's just that I – well, I don't know what to think. _Some_one must be."

 "And I'm the most likely suspect?"

Cassie hesitated, "Well…I don't want to put it like that, but…yeah. Please – don't be angry. I'm just trying to think logically. My head says you could be the one but my heart says you're not."

I nodded, "It's the same for me. I can't stand to think that you might be the one – but I can't rule it out just because I love you."

 "That's what I was trying to say."

 "Yeah. But we can't think like that if we want to have a loving relationship. We can't love each other if we don't trust each other."

 "I agree. I love you and trust you with all my heart, but still – I can't be completely sure when my brain isn't convinced. I don't want our relationship to fall apart. I want us to stay together, but if we go on like this things _are going to fall apart."_

I sighed, "If only there was some way we could let each other know – not just think, but _know_ – that we're both innocent. If only there was some way to look into each other's hearts and see the truth."

 "Maybe there is."

 "Huh?"

 "Gladiator – take your clothes off."

 "Excuse me?"

 "Take your clothes off. I'm taking mine off too."

 "Um – why?"

 "Because if one of us is the traitor, then they're a very good actor and a very accomplished liar. And I'm betting it's a hell of a lot harder to lie to somebody when you're both naked. This may seem extreme, but – well, we have to do something to prove to each other that we're innocent. And we have to do it _now before things start to break up."_

I was more than a little taken aback. Yes, I loved her – and yes, I too wanted to break down any barriers of suspicion that might sour the love between us – but this was…well, extreme was the right word. Would it work? If nothing else, it would be a gesture of trust, that both of us had nothing to hide from the other, and that we were prepared to go to any lengths to demonstrate the way we felt. But still…

 "Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked.

 "You think I enjoy taking my clothes off in front of people? Of course I don't. I'm doing it because I love you and I want more than anything to know that you're innocent."

I didn't know what to say. There was nothing I could say. All I knew was that I was likewise desperate to reassure myself that Cassandra wasn't the spy. And was it really such a big deal to take my clothes off in front of her? Of course not. If, as I hoped, we were going to spend the rest of our lives together, it certainly wouldn't be the last time. We had to do this. To save our relationship and preserve our love before it began to fall apart, we had to do this. Cassandra had already kicked off her shoes, and as she began pulling at the sleeve of her top, I swallowed my embarrassment and followed her example.

 When our clothes were on the floor, and we were standing nervously and self-consciously in front of each other, I looked her in the eyes and said, "Now what?"

 "Keep looking into my eyes and tell me that you never have and never will betray the Brotherhood."

I forced myself to keep looking straight into her eyes. The temptation for my eyes to wander over her gorgeous naked body was almost unbearable. She was probably having the same difficulty. It was only my desperation to convince myself that she was innocent, that kept my eyes fixed on hers. I repeated after her, "I never have and I never will betray the Brotherhood."

I had spoken from the heart. She knew I was telling the truth, and she breathed a sigh of relief, her body visibly relaxing.

 "Now you do the same," I said.

I continued to stare into her eyes, almost losing myself in those twin pools of sapphire brilliance, as she repeated the words. Cassandra was not lying. I didn't know how I knew, but I knew. There was no hint of deception in her eyes, no sign of a false persona or barrier of lies. I too felt my body sagging as relief spread through my system. This girl that I loved was everything she said she was. She was not the traitor. She was innocent. Her love for me was not false, and my love for her was returned in equal measure.

 "Oh, Cassie – I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Forgive me?"

My girlfriend nodded, "Of course. And you?"

 "Yeah."

Both of us smiled. We came together and kissed, and I was slipping my arms around her when she pushed me away gently and said, "I think we'd better get some clothes on before we start kissing and cuddling, don't you?"

We dressed, then held each other and kissed passionately. I knew I loved her now more than I had ever done before. We had seen into each other's soul, and seen nothing but the love we shared. We knew that neither of us was responsible for giving information to our enemies. I could cross Cassandra off the list. That only left five possibilities. I had no idea which of the guys it might be. Pyro had assured us that he would get to the bottom of the matter, but I wasn't entirely sure what he had in mind. He had sounded confident enough, so I assumed that he knew what he was doing. At this moment I was only concentrating on one thing: Cassandra was my love, and the two of us had shown that we were prepared to go to any lengths to prove our sincerity to each other. Whatever else might come to pass, at least I still had the girl I loved so much. If all else should fall away, I would always be happy as long as I had her by my side.


	5. A New Threat

Chapter Five

The research institute was fairly isolated, set in the middle of an expanse of wasteland near the edge of the city. There only appeared to be one road leading there, and the entire facility was surrounded by high, electrified fences. There was only one entrance, which was accompanied by a check-point and several heavily armed guards. Inside the compound there was another guard station, as well as groups of humans walking patrol routes. Pyro had said this place was well-guarded – he hadn't been exaggerating.

"All right, Vertigo, land here," our leader said. "Any closer and they'll spot us."

We touched down on the other side of a small rise, and got out.

"Are we just going to leave the chopper here?" asked Mole.

Pyro nodded, "Don't worry; if we need to make a quick getaway I can summon it by remote control. Recyclo's set up the automatic pilot to kick in and fly the 'copter towards my signal. Come on."

We followed him to the top of the rise, and surveyed the facility in the distance. There was an awful lot of open space between it and us, and I wasn't entirely sure how we were going to get there with the element of surprise still intact. Pyro would have a plan, though. He usually did.

"All right, here's what we do," he said. "We can't get any closer without being seen. Atlas, use your power on the earth around them. They'll think it's an earthquake, and if they follow their standard safety protocol they'll duck into the reinforced bunker just at the entrance of the building. That should give us the time we need to get over there without being seen."

My faith had not been misplaced. A look of concentration crossed Atlas' face, as he stretched out both arms towards the guard posts. For a few moments, nothing happened, then I could feel a slight tremor in the ground. It grew and grew more violent, until the earth around us was literally shaking. Gemini grabbed Pyro's arm to keep her balance, while Cassandra and I braced ourselves against each other. Vertigo had probably never lost his balance in his entire life, and he stood casually now, hands by his sides. Recyclo was likewise cool and composed, unwilling to do anything as undignified as leaning on another person for support. Scarab and Mole were both short enough that they weren't in danger of overbalancing.

For the humans in the guard posts, however, it was a different story. They were running frantically across the ground towards their bunker, throwing open a hatch and dropping inside. When the last human was inside, Pyro said, "Let's go!"

Atlas dropped his arms. The ground continued to shake, and would do so until it had settled down. By the time the humans ventured out of their bunker, we'd be on them. That was the plan, anyway. As a group we broke into a run, moving as fast as we could towards the facility. We covered the ground quickly, as the last of the earth tremors began to die down around us, and Vertigo was the first to reach the electrified fence.

"Can we turn off the power?" he asked.

Pyro nodded, "The controls should be in the guard hut."

Recyclo had already walked inside the now-empty guard shack, and presently the humming sound of the fence's electric power abruptly stopped. I heard a gasp of pain from behind me, and looked around. Gemini had just summoned her twin, an act which she still couldn't do without discomfort. I watched as her duplicate walked over to the fence and touched one of the wires. Nothing happened. The barrier was safe to touch. Recyclo had emerged from the guard shack, and a metal blade appeared in his hand as he approached the fence. He made short work of cutting through the tough metal, and quickly made a hole big enough for us to climb through. We had to move quickly. The earth had settled once more, and the humans would be climbing out of their bunker any moment. Once we were on the other side of the fence, Pyro said, "All right, when they come out of the bunker I want to be ready for them. Kill them all. We can't afford to have any of them escape. A further armed response unit showing up is inevitable – but I want to have some time before that happens. Everyone get ready. Cassandra, watch the facility in case any more come out of there."

"Got it."

We spread out a little as we closed in on the bunker, and each of us tensed as the hatch was pushed open from below.

"What the hell was _that_?" came a human's voice.

"An earthquake of course, where did _you_ go to school?"

"But we're not even on a fault line! There can't _be_ any earthquakes around here!"

"Well, obviously you're wrong!"

The first human lifted himself out of the bunker, and as he looked up his eyes widened in shock at seeing us in front of him. His hand reached for the weapon at his side, but before he could say or do anything, Recyclo skewered his throat with a knife. The human collapsed on to the ground, dead. 

"What the _hell_?" yelled a voice from inside the bunker.

Without warning an automatic weapon was thrust up out of the hole, and bullets began to spew in all directions, as the panicking sub-creature tried to hit something. He was firing too high into the air, and hit nothing. The sound, however, was enough to advertise the situation.

"Humans are coming from inside the building!" Cassandra yelled. "Ten or more! They're armed! They'll be here any minute!"

"Vertigo, Gemini, Recyclo, Gladiator – deal with them!" Pyro ordered.

Without questioning him, we hurried towards the front of the facility, waiting for the doors to be thrown open and the sub-creatures to pour out. I glanced round momentarily to see another human experimentally thrusting his head out of the bunker. Scarab was in position, and thrust his hugely strong arm around the guard's throat, lifting him bodily out of the hole, and twisting until a sickening _snap_ told me the human's neck was broken. The building's front door was kicked open, and sub-creatures began to spill out. These were dressed differently from the ones in the bunker – they looked more like military than simple security guards – but it didn't matter. They were only human, and we were superior. 

"We've got hostiles!" yelled one human, who appeared to be in command. "Drop them!"

"Sir, they're only children!"

"They're mutants, dammit! Finish them!"

Unfortunately for him, that was his last contribution to the battle, as Recyclo flicked a knife through the air into his neck. The rest of the humans, taken by surprise, dropped back to assume defensive positions, bringing up their weapons to bear on us. Vertigo was already on them, moving so effortlessly he appeared to be floating, as he knocked one human's weapon out of his hands, then spun round to kick another in the face. Gemini and her twin, moving in perfect synchrony, kicked another two humans to the ground. I inhaled deeply, then breathed a jet of flame straight into another group of soldiers, setting them on fire. They screamed, dropping their weapons, rolling on the ground to try and smother the flames. Recyclo strode calmly through the melee, pausing to thrust a blade into a sub-creature's heart. Another human gave a scream of rage, picked up a fallen machine gun and emptied a clip into Recyclo from point blank range. His eyes widened in disbelief and horror as my friend, looking distinctly unimpressed, dropped the metallic shield he had just created. The human panicked and fled. A throwing knife brought him down before he could get more than ten feet away.

This was too easy. I hadn't even needed to go berserk. A human stumbled into my path, and I swung my fist into his jaw, throwing him across the ground to land in a motionless heap – unconscious or dead, I didn't care which. I saw Vertigo, flipping upside down to kick two humans simultaneously, then twisting in mid-air to land back on two feet with perfect grace. I saw the Gemini twins dodging in opposite directions to avoid gunfire, then reacting in tandem to kill the human responsible. There weren't many left now. I grabbed one who was aiming a weapon at Gemini, and hurled him into the side of the building. Vertigo was casually trading blows with an unarmed soldier, while another had grabbed a combat knife from a sheath on his thigh and was approaching Recyclo. My friend opened his right hand and was holding a similar blade. For a moment I watched as they slashed at each other, then hurried over towards them as Recyclo's blade vanished. It was part of his mutation – the 'recycled' objects he created only lasted for a matter of moments. As I approached, he ducked a wild lunge from the human, then recovered his composure to create a blade in each hand and thrust them into the soldier's chest. The human gave a hacking, bloody cough, then fell to the ground.

I heard a scream from behind me, and whirled round. Gemini had been shot in the chest, and I watched in horror as her lifeless body crumpled to the floor. I ran over, knowing there was nothing I could do to help her, but then a hand grabbed my shoulder and I heard her voice from behind me, "Relax! That's my twin! I'm OK!"

"Where's the one who shot her?"

"Up there!"

I looked up in the direction she was pointing. Two or three floors above our heads, a window was open, and two sub-creatures with sniper rifles were bringing their weapons around to aim at us. I pulled Gemini to safety beside the building, out of their line of fire. A quick glance around told me that there were only a couple of humans left down here – and as I watched Vertigo was twisting in mid-air to deliver a two-footed kick to one's neck. The human was thrown to the ground and didn't move. The last of them was fumbling with his weapon as Recyclo approached. My silent friend raised both hands, and from his palms came clouds of white gas. He was converting them from the air around him, and the human choked and gasped as the gas surrounded him. Falling to his knees, his eyes streaming, he tried desperately to run to safety. Vertigo's fist came up into his jaw, and he fell unconscious. Recyclo was now hidden behind the clouds of tear gas, and the snipers up in the building were aiming at Vertigo.

"Get down!" I yelled at him.

He reacted with catlike grace to dive to one side, rolling over and getting to his feet just as two bullets smacked into the earth where he'd just been standing.

"We have to kill them!" Gemini cried.

Recyclo's voice came from our side, "Stay here. I'll do it."

Forming a metal blade in his left hand, he thrust it into the side of the building, pushing it in as far as it would go, until it was secure. Creating a second blade in his right, he did the same thing, pushing it into the wall a foot or so above the first. I was about to ask what he was doing, when it became clear to me. With his left hand he 'recycled' a third metal spike from the air molecules around his palm, and thrust it into the wall above the other two. His right hand formed another metal blade, and he climbed on top of the first spike. Now it was obvious what he was doing. By creating these metal spikes and plunging them in alternately, each one a little higher than the last, he was climbing up the wall as if he was using a ladder. I was amazed at how easy he made it look – it had probably taken him years to learn – he was climbing up the side of the wall as quickly as if he were walking on the ground. 

"We'll have to draw their fire, in case they notice him," I said. "Gemini, summon your duplicate again."

Gemini closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, tensed her muscles, and lines of concentration appeared along with a pained expression on her face. She gave a gasp of pain and exertion as her twin materialised beside her. I put a hand on her shoulder to steady her, and she leaned on me for support.

"Sorry," she gasped. "It's always harder if the previous one's just died."

The new twin began running out of the cover provided by the side of the building, and the snipers saw her instantly, moving their weapons to bear on her. I looked over to check on Recyclo. He was still climbing steadily, not far from the balcony where the two snipers were kneeling. Gemini screamed and collapsed against me as a sniper's bullet lodged in her twin's brain, knocking the running figure to the floor.

"I'll be all right," she said shakily. "I always feel it when she gets hurt…"

We both looked up in time to see Recyclo, having reached the level of the balcony, performing an elegant leap to land behind the two unsuspecting humans. Forming two blades, one in each hand, he stabbed both humans in the neck, flinging their bodies off the side of the balcony. The two dead sub-creatures landed on the earth beside us, and Gemini breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's the last of them!" said Vertigo.

I looked around. He was right. The group of soldiers who had tried to kill us were now a pile of broken, burnt and bleeding bodies, their weapons scattered around where they had fallen.

"Gemini – you OK?" I asked her.

"Fine. You?"

Before I could reply, Pyro appeared at our side, "We took care of the others. Recyclo, get down here and we'll go inside."

Recyclo jumped gracefully over the side of the balcony, his arms outstretched, and it took me a moment or two to realise why he was falling so slowly. He had to be using his power to form some kind of lighter-than-air gas underneath him, to slow his descent. Gemini and Vertigo had clearly seen it all before, as they didn't give him a second glance, but I was amazed. Was there anything this guy _couldn't_ do?

Pyro too was not paying attention, engrossed as he was in trying the front doors. They appeared to be locked, and would not budge. I looked for some way of opening them, but there didn't appear to be a keyhole or an electronic keypad or anything.

"How do we get it open?" I asked.

"It's a security door," said Pyro. "It closes automatically in the event of an emergency like this. It can't and won't open until the emergency is over."

"So how do we get it open?"

Pyro turned, "Mole? Over here!"

The rest of the Brotherhood arrived at a run beside us, and Mole stepped forward. Pyro gestured to the door, and Mole pulled back his arm. Swinging it forward, his metal fist smashed into the security door with unbelievable force, punching a hole clean through. Mole ducked through the hole, and hit a switch from the other side, cancelling the state of emergency. The security door slid silently open. We went inside, moving carefully and cautiously in case there were more humans inside waiting to ambush us, but it appeared they had all come running out in the initial charge.

"OK," said our leader. "Here's what we're going to do now. Scarab, Mole, Atlas, stay here and guard the front entrance. Gemini, Cassandra, you're with me; we'll set the explosives to blow this place to hell. Recyclo, Vertigo, Gladiator, you have a look around and see if you can find out anything more about the research they're doing here. I have a feeling there's more to this place than meets the eye. Those weren't ordinary security personnel you were fighting, those were trained soldiers – and our intelligence didn't say anything about soldiers guarding this place."

"You think they were waiting for us?" said Atlas nervously. "What if our traitor told somebody other than the X-Men about our plans?"

"Possible. There's no use speculating. Hopefully we'll find something here that will let us know what's going on. All right then, go to it."

We split into three groups of three, and I cast an unhappy glance over my shoulder as I saw Cassandra and Gemini, with Pyro, heading the other way. I didn't want to be separated from the girls. They were the only two I knew I could definitely trust. Well – at least I knew Cassandra would be safe. Neither of the people she was with could possibly be the traitor. As for the rest – I had no way of knowing.

"All right, where we heading for?" said Vertigo.

Recyclo pointed down the corridor to our left, "The computer storage facility is down that way. That's where we'll find out what we want to know."

"Lead the way."

We went the way Recyclo had indicated – he seemed to know where he was going – and before long we reached a door labelled **Computer Data Storage – Top Level Access only**. It appeared to be electronically locked with a keypad next to the handle. Recyclo punched a code into the pad, and the door slid silently open.

"How'd you know the code?" I asked in surprise.

"Pyro and I hacked into their security system last night."

He walked into the room and we followed him. Nine or ten computer terminals were plugged into a huge machine that looked like a central mainframe and server. Recyclo glanced around for a moment or two, "Everything we need should be here."

Grabbing a swivel chair, he sat down in front of one of the terminals, and got to work.

"What do you want us to do?" I asked.

"Keep watch for any trouble."

I sighed, "How long will this take you?"

He didn't reply, and I went to stand next to the door, to keep an eye on the corridor outside.

"There can't be any security personnel left in the building, can there?" I said to Vertigo.

He shrugged, "Nah, but the ordinary office workers and scientists will still be here. Any of them could sound the alarm. It's inevitable that somebody will find us, but the longer we remain undetected the better."

"So if someone comes along here just now…"

"We silence them before they can give us away."

"Fair enough."

I had no idea how long Recyclo would take to find the information we needed, and I was preparing myself for a long wait, when he suddenly said, "This must be it."

"Hmm?"

"I've found the reason why this building was so heavily guarded. There's a secret government research team working here."

"Working on what?"

"I don't know yet."

He continued what he was doing, and again I marvelled at the unbelievable speed at which he was typing. It was almost as if the computer keyboard was an extension of his own fingers, rather than a separate entity with which he had to interact. Presently he stopped, "I've found it."

"Found what?"

"See for yourself."

Vertigo and I walked over to look at the computer screen over his shoulder. 

"'The Apocalypse Project'," I read. "What does that mean?"

"It's what they're working on here. It's the government researchers' project. It seems to be something to do with genetics – but with military applications. That's all I've been able to find so far."

"Do you think they're – gosh, I dunno – breeding some kind of creatures to fight for them?"

Recyclo said nothing. Vertigo put in, "Whatever it is, it sounds as if it could be a threat to us. I'd better tell Pyro."

He grabbed the communicator from his belt and tapped it on, "Yo, leader man."

"This is Pyro," came the reply.

"We think we've found something pretty important here – you wanna come up and take a look?"

"On our way. The explosives are in place."

"See you soon."

He flicked off the comm. unit, and Recyclo said, "Here's something else. This is the human in charge of the research project."

We looked back at the screen. It showed a picture of a balding, bespectacled man wearing a white lab coat.

"There's a mad scientist if I ever saw one," Vertigo commented dryly. "Elias Van Gaarde – good, sinister-sounding name as well."

"You still can't find out what their research is about?" I asked.

Recyclo answered, "No. But whatever it is, it's taking place on an underground level."

"How do we get down there?"

"I think we should wait until Pyro gets here."

"Oh yeah. Right."

It was only a minute or two before our leader and the girls arrived. 

"What do you have?" Pyro said.

Recyclo showed him. Vertigo slouched lazily against the wall while they stood over the computer, and I went over to Cassandra. She and Gemini both smiled at me.

"All right," said Pyro. "We're going down to the underground levels. I don't know what they're doing down there, but it sounds as if it may be too important to ignore. The underground level wasn't on any of the building schematics we looked at – they're obviously trying to keep it a secret. Obviously whatever's down there is something they don't want anyone to see. Come on, we're done here."

Pyro had obviously memorised the layout of the building, and we followed him from the computer room to the elevators. The elevator took us down to the underground level, where we found ourselves in an empty, sterile-looking corridor painted plain white. Ahead and to the left was a turning. Further on there were some closed doors on either sides.

"The main laboratory will be this way. Come on."

He led us down the turning, and before long we were faced by another of the electronically-locked security doors. This too had a keypad at the side, and again Recyclo punched in the code to open it. How they had got the codes, I wasn't too sure. He'd said something about 'hacking' into the security system – had he meant over the Internet? I supposed he must have done…

The room beyond was vast, and had to be taking up almost all of the underground level. In front of us was some kind of storage area, containing various chemicals – solid, liquid and gas – along with seemingly every kind of scientific apparatus imaginable. To the left were a bank of computer terminals, which appeared to be engaged in running some kind of simulation program. To the right was a cluster of huge machines, whose purpose I could only guess at. They were all interconnected with various wires and pipes, and I found myself walking over to take a closer look, Cassandra following me. Recyclo had unsurprisingly headed straight for the computers, and was engrossed in whatever their screens were telling him. Pyro was also taking a closer look at the large machines.

"What do you think these are?" I asked.

"How should I know?" he said. "I can only guess they're some kind of bio-spheres. The pipes and wires going in are probably carrying oxygen and nutriments."

"You mean there's something _alive_ in these?" Cassandra said in surprise. "You think they're growing some kind of animals?"

"I don't know. There doesn't seem to be any way to see inside. This is a government project – and they went to some lengths to try and hide it – so there must be something big here."

"Do you think it'll be a threat to us? Should we destroy it?"

"Well, that's what we're here to find out. The explosives we've set probably won't do any damage to this level – we may have to plant more if we find anything dangerous here."

At that moment there came an violent explosion from the other side of the huge laboratory room, and voices began screaming, along with the sudden loud hissing of released gas.

"What's happening?" Cassandra gasped.

"Is it one of our bombs?" I asked.

Pyro shook his head, "No. I haven't triggered them. It must be someth – "

There came the sound of footsteps running madly in our direction, and a human appeared from between one of the huge machines.

"Run for your lives!" he screamed. "There's been a containment breach!"

Without waiting for a response, the human fled past us and towards the door we had just come in by. Frantically he punched in the security code. The door remained closed.

"_No_!" the human screamed. "The door's been locked down automatically due to the containment breach! We're trapped!"

"I guess the government don't want any of their secrets escaping," said Pyro sarcastically.

The hissing of escaping gas grew louder, and was followed by the sound of something heavy falling over. It was happening on the far side of the room and we couldn't see what was going on. Another voice could be heard screaming in terror, "No! No! Put me down!"

There was a _snap_ and the screaming stopped.

"There is something _alive_ in here," said Cassandra, her eyes going wide with fear. "Pyro, what do we do?"

Our leader turned, "Recyclo – can you get the doors open?"

"It'll take time."

"Do it. Damn, where's Mole when we need him?"

He tapped his communicator, "Mole?"

No response. 

"Mole? This is Pyro. Respond."

Then he shook his head, "Damn. We're underground; the signal must be getting blocked."

From the other side of the lab came another loud crash, and an enraged roar.

"What was _that_?" Gemini cried.

"Dunno – some kind of animal. It must be whatever they're trying to breed here."

He was calm – but then Pyro never appeared to be afraid, always brimful with confidence in our and his own abilities. Both Cassandra and Gemini looked terrified, and I had to admit I was not exactly as cool as ice myself. Vertigo was as unperturbed as ever, and he wandered over to stand beside us. Another series of crashes sounded, and with each one the thing – whatever was making them – appeared to be getting closer.

When it finally appeared, lumbering from between two of the machines, it was like something out of a nightmare. At least eight feet tall, it had arms the size of a normal person's legs, and huge muscles bulged from every inch of its body. Its head was tiny by comparison, and small black eyes glared down at us with undisguised hostility.

"What – what the hell is _that_?" Gemini wailed.

"It's a mutant," said Pyro. "A genetically engineered mutant. That must be what the government are working on here. An army of genetic mutants."

"Great – what do we do about it?" said Vertigo.

Pyro glanced back, "Recyclo, how's it coming with the doors?"

"Slowly."

"Shit. If this thing attacks, we'll have to hold it off as best we can."

The huge mutant had been watching us for a few minutes, perhaps trying to decide whether or not we represented a threat.

"Can we talk to it?" I suggested.

"It doesn't look like the talkative type. Everybody go back a few steps. We don't want to fight it if it can be avoided. It's a mutant, so it's not an enemy – not unless it wants to be."

"Oh, I'd say there's a fair chance of that," Vertigo replied.

We stepped back slowly, trying to appear non-threatening, hoping the mutant would leave us alone. Our hope didn't last long. The giant roared and swung one of his massive fists towards us. Gemini ducked, and Vertigo grabbed her around the waist to pull her to safety. The giant turned on Cassandra, and I ran forward to protect her. Throwing myself against him, I knocked him to the ground, and Cassandra hurried to stand with the others. The giant swiped at her with his arm, missed, and I drove my knee into his chest. He drew back a huge fist and aimed a punch at my jaw. I just managed to get out of the way, and lost my balance in the process. Vertigo was following up, and he delivered a spinning kick to the mutant's face, drawing blood but it didn't slow the giant in any way.

"Recyclo! The doors!" Pyro yelled.

"Almost there."

The mammoth mutant seemed to be going after Cassandra, as he ignored Vertigo and lumbered straight towards my girlfriend. My anger and my protective instincts aroused, I ascended into a berserk rage, and tackled him to the floor. He tried to throw me to one side, but I held on with my amplified strength and delivered a solid punch to his chest. Before he had a chance to react, I had followed up with a massive blow to his jaw. He swayed, grunted, and fell.

"Don't relax; he'll be back up soon enough," Pyro snapped. "Good work, though. Recyclo, how's it coming?"

No response.

"Recyclo!"

This time he responded, "I don't understand. The computer system just failed."

"What?"

"The whole system just went dead. I can't get anything to work."

All of us looked at Pyro. Another explosion sounded from the other side of the lab, and then the sound of harsh, ragged breathing, as if somebody was getting his first gasps of air after being underwater for a long time. The giant mutant on the floor was just beginning to stir. Sounds of movement were coming from the far side of the room, and it was obvious there was somebody there.

"Do you think there's more than one of these things?" Vertigo asked.

"I'd rather not find out. There must be another way out of here," said Pyro.

"The plans didn't show any."

"Shut up. There must be something."

"Look! Up there!" Gemini cried, pointing towards the ceiling.

We looked. At first I didn't believe what I saw, but I couldn't deny what my eyes were telling me. There was a figure climbing the side of the wall with his hands and feet as effortlessly as if he were crawling on the horizontal. It – he – turned as he heard Gemini shout, and without warning he let go of the wall, leaping backwards to land on all fours not ten feet away from us. It had to be another genetically engineered mutant, but it looked nothing like the first. This one was insectoid in appearance, with a long, sneering face; clawed hands and feet; and sharp-jointed limbs. He tensed himself to spring at us, then seemed to change his mind, and drew back his head to spit in our direction. Instinctively I ducked, and a wad of some foul-smelling liquid splattered against the wall behind me.

"Acid!" Pyro exclaimed. "All of you get clear!"

He had already flicked on his lighter, and lifted his hand to send a wall of flame at the attacker. The insectoid hissed, and leaped about ten feet from the floor to the ceiling, avoiding the fire. He didn't fall back down. His hands and feet were splayed on the surface of the ceiling, and were somehow adhered to it. With a roar, the giant mutant got back on his feet. 

"Uh," said Cassandra nervously. "I hate to be the one to make a bad situation look even worse, but the X-Men are going to get here in about five minutes."

Vertigo summed up the situation succinctly enough, "We're in trouble."


	6. The Mutant Problem

Chapter Six

A little uncertain, we began to back away from the hostile mutants. We didn't want to fight them. They were our own kind. We wouldn't attack them, not unless Pyro told us to. The huge mutant gave a low animal growl, bunching his massive fists, and lumbering towards us. The insectoid, still hanging from the roof, watched him pass by underneath.

"What do we do, chief?" asked Vertigo – even he was starting to sound a bit worried.

Pyro lost his patience and yelled, "Recyclo, get those _f**king_ doors open!"

I turned. The computer screens sat blank and useless in front of Recyclo, and clearly there was nothing he could do. As I watched, however, he moved away from the computers and over to the door. A blade appeared in his hand, and he stabbed into the wall beside the door, pulling to rip aside a panel of some sort. Underneath was an electronic circuit of some kind, presumably the one that was holding the door closed. I couldn't make head nor tail of it, but Recyclo seemed to know what he was doing, and he formed another blade to begin slicing and stabbing at various wires and components. I hoped he would work fast.

A sound made me spin back around to face our enemies. The insectoid had leapt from the ceiling to grab on to one of the walls, his incredibly adherence holding him fast. He bared his teeth and gave a loud hissing sound, before letting go of the wall and springing once more, this time straight towards us.

"Pyro, get down!" Cassandra yelled.

Our leader dropped to the floor without hesitation, seconds before the insectoid's clawed hands scythed at the air where Pyro's head had just been. Pyro rolled over to get to his feet, and launched another sheet of flame towards the enemy. The insectoid reacted just in time to leap clear, adhering himself to the wall once more. The huge mutant had no such luck and gave an angry roar as the fire surrounded him. To our dismay, however, he absorbed the flames and appeared to be completely unharmed.

"Time for a Plan B, I think," said Vertigo.

Gemini tightened her muscles and gave a pained gasp as her twin materialised into existence beside her. I took a step forward, blocking the giant mutant's path towards the girls. The insectoid mutant, still hugging the wall, gave an angry hiss and drew back his head to spit another gob of acid in my direction. Cassandra's hand was already on my arm and pulling me out of the way. Pyro sent another ball of fire at the giant, but again it didn't seem to have any effect.

Another explosion shook the laboratory, throwing everyone except Vertigo and the insectoid to the ground. At the far end of the room, more noises could be heard…it seemed another of the genetically engineered mutants was loose. Pyro took command of the situation, "All right – Gladiator, Cassandra, Gemini – go after the giant. Vertigo, you and I will take the bug. We've got to neutralise them before any more get out. Recyclo, hurry it up."

"Almost ready," came Recyclo's voice.

I ran forward to tackle the huge mutant, ducking easily under his clumsy punch, and twisting to kick him in the ribs. Gemini's twin had run round behind him, but the giant reached down to pluck her off the ground, and hurled her across the laboratory. Gemini herself doubled up in pain as her twin smashed into the opposite all, and the giant returned his attention to me. A swipe from his massive arm would have sent me flying if I hadn't dodged in time. I feinted with my left fist, then drove my right fist into his jaw. He recoiled, and retaliated angrily, picking up a broken piece of machinery from the floor and dashing it into the ground just where I had been standing before Cassandra pushed me to safety. I gave her a quick kiss before ducking another of the mammoth punches, and socking my fist into his face once more. He stumbled, lost his balance, and fell on to his back, stunned and disoriented. I moved forward to finish him.

A hand dropped on to my shoulder, a hand that felt as thin and dry as paper. Caught by surprise I whirled round to find myself staring into an unfamiliar face. It had to be the third escaped mutant, and again it bore no resemblance whatsoever to the others. This one was skeletally thin with eyes that peered out of cavernous sockets, and skin that appeared as old and wasted as a corpse. My initial shock kept me from reacting in any way, and the skeletoid's hand moved to touch the exposed skin of my neck. I made as if to shake him off, when a jolt like an electric shock ran through my body. I gasped with pain, and couldn't move a muscle. The skeletoid's eyes widened with some kind of demonic glee as his power, whatever it was, overcame me. I felt – I couldn't describe it – _drained_ was the only word. It was as if all my strength and power was being stolen away by his touch. He smiled – a terrible, skull-like apparition that revealed sharp, fanged incisors – and moved his mouth towards my neck.

In desperation my survival instincts took over and I went berserk, pushing the vampire mutant away from me, sagging weakly as I felt the loss of the strength he had stolen. I would recover it before long – but would it be quick enough to prevent him from attacking me a second time? I chanced a glance over my shoulder. The giant mutant was still on the floor. Gemini was still curled in pain. Pyro and Vertigo were unsuccessfully chasing the insectoid, who was leaping from floor to wall to ceiling, always keeping just out of their reach. Cassandra was watching me nervously, waiting for her foresight to warn her of any impending danger she should protect us from. I turned back to the skeletoid. He advanced on me, and I prepared to use my flamethrower attack. A body that dry ought to burn like anything. I took a deep breath and felt the tingling sensation in my lungs.

A jet of fire burst from the vampire's throat, and I was only just able to react in time to leap backwards and avoid it. Cassandra hurried over to help me to my feet. As we watched, the skeletoid gave another demonic grin and vanished from view. For a moment both of us were too shocked for any logical thought, then it made sense.

"He stole my powers!" I cried. "Where the hell is he?"

The now-invisible skeletoid could have been anywhere, preparing to breathe fire at any one of my friends. In panic I looked around in all directions, desperately trying to get a glimpse of a camouflaged body – he wouldn't be _completely_ invisible. Now I knew what it was like to fight me – I didn't like it one bit. Nor did I understand what had happened. How could the skeletoid have stolen my powers? That was Rogue's mutation! Two mutants couldn't be born with the same power – could they?

Cassandra suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me backwards, seconds before another jet of flame came searing through the air out of nowhere. I looked for any sign of the invisible power-stealer, but there was none. Fine. Two can play at that game. I called upon my own camouflage mutation, and my body disappeared from view.

"I've done it," came Recyclo's voice, calm and emotionless as ever.

I looked over. The electronics in the door panel had been suitably butchered and rewired, and the door was now sitting invitingly open.

"I can't guarantee it'll stay open long," he said.

"Go!" I urged Cassandra. "I'll cover you!"

She began hurrying towards the door, and I followed close behind her, ready to protect her from any attacks. Gemini was on her feet, hobbling painfully and slowly to the exit, and I ran over to scoop her up in my arms. Vertigo and Pyro were approaching at a run, keeping a wary eye behind them for any mouthfuls of acid that might suddenly come flying at them. As we went, I heard another explosion from the back of the room – a fourth mutant had escaped. Recyclo was first through the door, and the rest of us followed as quickly as we could. Not a moment too soon either, as the moment the last of us – Pyro – had hurried through the door, it slid across once more to block the way. Each of us – except Recyclo – breathed a visible sigh of relief.

"Thank you," said Gemini softly, as I put her back on her feet.

She pecked me on the cheek, either unaware or uncaring that Cassandra was right beside me.

"So what just happened?" I asked in confusion. "Who were those guys?"

Pyro got his breathing back under control, "I told you. They must be part of the government project that's going on here. It must be the humans' answer to what they call the 'mutant problem': build an army of their own mutated soldiers to wipe us out."

"And are we surprised?" said Vertigo sarcastically. "Human scum aren't terribly unpredictable, are they?"

"I still don't get it," I said. "One of those guys stole my powers – his mutation worked the same way as Rogue's. That's impossible, isn't it? I mean, for two mutants to have the same power?"

"Maybe he's Rogue's son or something," suggested Gemini.

Pyro shook his head, "Rogue can't have children."

"Why not?"

"Well, think about it."

"Oh yeah."

"I think the most likely explanation is that they're implanting ordinary humans with mutant powers," said Pyro. "It's not unheard of. It happened to Gladiator's father. Presumably they've got hold of a sample of Rogue's DNA, and used it to implant her power in another."

"What about those other two?" asked Cassandra.

Pyro frowned, "I can't be sure. The insectoid reminded me of Toad. Obviously not exactly the same, but a mutation will affect different people's bodies in different ways. This mutant shares some characteristics with Toad, but not all. The jumping ability, the spitting, the sticking to walls – they've got that in common."

"And the big guy?"

"I don't know. Sabretooth, perhaps. I can't be certain – I never actually met either Toad or Sabretooth. They were part of the original Brotherhood, as you know. They were killed by the X-Men before I joined. Anyway, we can discuss this later. We can't stop now. We've got to keep going. The others should still be at the entrance. We'll go back to the helicopter, detonate the explosives, and then head for home."

"What about the three stooges in there?" Vertigo demanded, waving his hand at the closed door we'd just come through.

"Four," I corrected. "Another one escaped just before we left."

"We leave them," said Pyro. "They're mutants, so we've no right to kill them except if it's unavoidable self defence. Once they find out what's happened to them, and what the humans were trying to do to them, they'll probably seek revenge. They are not necessarily our enemies. They may even become our allies." 

I raised my eyebrows. Try as I might, I couldn't quite picture _that_ happening. But then again – maybe Pyro was right. He usually was. He seemed to know what he was talking about when it came to the mutant-human conflict.

"Let's go," he said.

We followed him to the elevators, and as we ascended to the ground floor, Pyro tapped his communicator, "Mole? Mole, do you copy? Scarab? Atlas? Dammit, where are you guys?"

"They're probably having a nap," said Vertigo.

"They'd better not be. If I leave them on guard, I expect them to do the job!"

We went past the computer room and found ourselves heading for the front door. When we got there, there was nobody in sight. Our friends who should have been guarding the entrance, were nowhere to be seen.

"Where the hell are they?" Pyro said impatiently. "We haven't got time to mess around!"

He tapped his comm. again, "Mole! Atlas! Scarab!"

They didn't respond. Pyro sighed angrily, "All right, we'll have to start looking for them. If they're in the computer lab looking at porn, they'll be sorry. OK, there's six of us, so we'll split up into pairs and start searching. Begin on the ground floor and – "

A noise from behind us interrupted him. In surprise we turned.

"Hello, John," said Cyclops.


	7. The Demons

Chapter Seven

 It was as if some kind of electric shock had physically hit us. Clearly we had all forgotten that the X-Men had been on their way. Cassandra had foreseen it down in the labs - but with all that had been going on, it had been pushed right out of our minds. Behind Cyclops I could see more of the X-Men gathered, with their jet parked nearby, blocking our escape. Where were Mole and the others? Had they been captured?

 I didn't have any time to think right then. Instinct took over as each of us reacted in an instant: Pyro flicked on his lighter ready to defend us; Vertigo tensed his body like a coil and prepared to spring; Gemini gave the agonised gasp as she summoned her twin to her side; I stepped in front of Cassandra to protect her from any attack, but she was already moving, having foreseen something.

 "Recyclo, no!" she cried.

If hatred could be expressed emotionlessly, it was radiating out of Recyclo's grey eyes now, as he faced the leader of our enemies. As Recyclo opened both hands to reveal a pair of knives, I knew what Cassandra must have foreseen. She tried to push his arms back down, but he knocked her aside, and flicked both blades through the air towards Cyclops' throat. As he did so, I knew Cyclops was dead. Recyclo's aim was never anything less than perfect, and if those blades were aimed at the X-Man's neck, that was where they would finish up.

 I was wrong. Cyclops reacted with almost unbelievable speed, bringing his hand up to his visor, calmly firing off two bolts of ruby energy that melted the knives in mid-air. That was, however, merely the catalyst that sparked off the tensions simmering between both sides. With identical screams of hatred, the Gemini twins launched themselves towards the leader of the X-Men. Taking a defensive step back, he swivelled on one foot to effortlessly flip one of the twins on to her back, letting her momentum do most of the work. He wasn't prepared, however, for the second twin reacting perfectly in tandem with the first, and side-kicking him in the back of the head.

 The rest of the X-Men were hurrying towards us now. Shock raised her arm to send a lightning blast at us, but Recyclo had both hands up with some sort of shield deflecting the electric attack. Vertigo was running forward, ducking a lightning bolt and jumping into the air to flip upside-down and kick Shock and Iceman simultaneously. Before I knew what I was doing, I was following him, clenching my fists and inhaling a deep breath. Shapeshifter was the nearest X-Man to me, and I swung a massive punch towards his jaw. Dipping his shoulder, he dodged out of the way, and retaliated immediately, kicking me in the side. I felt no pain. Then he hesitated, his eyes widening in horror, "_Gary_?!"

My anger beginning to rise, as always happened during a fight, I swung another punch. He ducked easily, and held up his hands as a gesture of peace, "Gary! What are you doing? Gary!"

 "My name is Gladiator," I snapped.

 "But what are you - "

I cut him off. I had no time to talk to these people. They represented everything that was wrong with the mutant situation. Their insistence on protecting humans meant that mutants were dying, including the girl who had meant the most to me: Marina. Marina was dead, dead because she had trusted in these people to look after her and protect her. But no...they'd been so busy looking out for their bloody humans that she'd been left unguarded, and had been shot in the throat by a human soldier. I would never forgive the X-Men.

 "Shut up!" I yelled. "Shut up, shut up, _shut __up! It's all your fault!"_

With a furious rage burning in my veins, I breathed a white-hot jet of flame directly into his face. His quick reactions and his mutation saved his life, as he used his power to change into a liquid, his entire body dissolving in front of my eyes. His liquid form splashed on to the ground around me, and I stamped my foot into it angrily, knowing not whether it had any effect. Coward! Typical X-Man! He'd rather hide away than fight! I looked to see how my friends were doing.

 Vertigo was simply untouchable, never remaining still for a single moment: ducking, twisting, turning, spinning, flipping, punching, kicking, all the while avoiding the counter-attacks of our enemies. Iceman was trying to get to grips with him, but he simply wasn't fast enough. Gemini was still attacking Cyclops with the ferocity borne out of her vengeful hate for humans and anyone who tried to protect them. She wasn't faring quite so well; as I watched a ruby ray struck one of her in the chest, throwing her to the ground. I hoped it was the twin. Recyclo had formed and thrown two more knives, which Wolverine managed to deflect with his claws. Rogue and Pyro were facing off against each other, but so far neither of them had made the first move. Shock was on her back, stunned from Vertigo's attack, and was trying to pull herself back together as quickly as she could. Cassandra was near Gemini, shouting out warnings to help her avoid Cyclops' optic blasts.

 Were all the X-Men here? No - there were two missing. Storm and Nightcrawler weren't here. Presumably they were back at the mansion, 'looking after' the children. I snorted. Their protection wasn't worth a thing as far as I was concerned. If a bunch of angry humans showed up at their school, the X-Men would probably invite them in for tea, then stand and watch as the children were slaughtered. It had happened to Marina. It would not happen again. My Brothers and Sisters and I would make sure of that.

 I heard a scream, and turned. Cassandra had fallen, clutching her side, and I looked to see who was responsible - Shock. The lightning mutant stood with her hands outstretched, having just sent an electric bolt into my girlfriend's side. Fury exploded inside me like a mortar shell, and a curtain of red passed over my eyes as the demon of vengeance within me took control. I screamed with rage as I went berserk, running forwards to confront the X-Man. These people had already let Marina die. I would kill every last one of them before I let them do the same to Cassandra. Shock looked round as she heard me approaching, and instinctively her body tensed, but nothing could have prepared her for my attack. My fist crashed into her face, hurling her through the air away from me. She landed on her back, gasping with pain, and I pushed onward to hit her again.

 Another X-Man appeared in the corner of my vision, trying to block my path. Without even looking in their direction, I launched a sideways kick, knocking them away from me. I strode forward to where Shock was struggling to pick herself up from the floor. I did it for her, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her from the ground with all my mutated strength. She fought against me, but I merely increased my grip on her throat until her movements became weak and ineffective. Her hands flapped uselessly at my grasp, but she didn't have the strength to resist me. Cassandra was still on the ground, still in agony, holding her side. In my hand I held the one responsible for her pain. All I had to do was squeeze...

_Kill her_, my inner demon urged.

A pair of adamantium claws snapped into place on either side of my neck, and Wolverine's voice came from behind me, "All right, kid, let her go."

I felt a pricking sensation at the back of my neck as the middle claw slowly extended.

 "Let her go," he repeated.

I dropped Shock to the ground. She curled reflexively into a ball, her hands clutching at her throat as she gasped for breath. Wolverine said, "Good start, kid. Now - "

Kid, am I? I thought angrily, I'll show you how much of a kid I am, X-Man.

I called on my camouflage mutation, disappearing from his sight, ducking down and twisting out from between his claws at the same time. It drew blood from my neck but I didn't care.

 "What the - " came his surprised voice, just as I grabbed his body with both hands and hurled him into the side of the building.

The impact must have jarred him somewhat, but he only appeared to become angrier, his face twisting into a ferocious mask, jumping to his feet and fully extended all six of his claws.

 "You'll be sorry you did that," he snarled, his breathing harsh and ragged.

 "I'm sure."

I was still invisible. He couldn't see me, but he could smell me, and he began moving across the ground towards me. I hit him in the side of the head with my fist, sending him sprawling on to the ground. For a moment he was stunned, then his healing mutation kicked in, and he got back to his feet as good as new. I chanced a glance behind me to see what else was going on. Cassandra too was back on her feet, still holding her side, and she was now struggling to deal with Rogue. Shapeshifter was helping Shock to hobble weakly towards the safety of the building. Pyro and Iceman were further away, jets of fire and ice shooting between them, their powers effectively cancelling each other out as both sought to get the upper hand. Gemini was on the ground, not moving, and Cyclops was kneeling over her, his hands on her shoulders.

 "Get away from her!" I yelled.

Vertigo was already moving towards the leader of the X-Men, who was clearly oblivious to his approach. Spinning, Vertigo kicked Cyclops in the side of the head, knocking his visor to the ground. Cyclops gave a cry of alarm and shut his eyes instantly, his hands desperately fumbling about for his eye-piece. Vertigo calmly stepped on it, then knelt beside the motionless Gemini, lifting her in his arms. Recyclo strode past emotionlessly, his right hand opening to reveal another blade. He snapped around, looking for a target, and the knife was flicked from his hand to pierce Rogue's heart. Her scream rang through the air, and the other X-Men looked over in horror to see her falling to her knees, choking up blood on to the ground.

 "What is it? What's happening?" Cyclops asked, his hands on his ruined visor.

Iceman forgot about Pyro, and sprinted across the ground to Rogue's side. Wolverine saw red, and with a howl of rage he launched himself through the air towards Recyclo, his claws aimed directly at my friend's chest. Recyclo didn't move back an inch, calmly raising a metallic shield to deflect the furious X-Man's attack. Gemini had regained consciousness and was on her feet, as Vertigo hurried over to aid Recyclo.

 "Crusader!" yelled Iceman. "_Crusader_!"

What? Who was he talking about? Some instinct made me turn and look behind me. The X-jet wasn't far away, and on the landing ramp appeared a single figure.

 My sister.

 For the first time I knew fear. She was the only one in the world who might be able to match me. I was still invisible, but that didn't mean she couldn't detect me. She was telepathic. Even now she could be reading my mind, finding out all of the Brotherhood's secrets, everything we didn't want the X-Men to know. I moved forward, determined to stop her before she could penetrate my thoughts. As she approached at a run, I clenched my fists, felt my berserk power rising, and took another deep breath.

 She ran straight past me, either unaware of my presence or too preoccupied to worry about me. Iceman was on his knees now, cradling Rogue's dying body in his arms, and my sister was heading straight for them. Of course. She was going to use her healing power. I looked more closely and I saw that she was wearing their uniform. So they had made her an X-Man - or maybe X-Woman was a better word? No - she was only 16 - X-Girl was probably more appropriate. So they had put her on the front line, and were clearly willing to risk her life for their crazy ideals. I didn't understand it at all. My sister could read minds. Why was she unable to realise that the X-Men were feeding her a pack of lies?

 And what had Iceman called her? Crusader? That had to be her mutant name. It had never occurred to me that my sister might have chosen one, as I had. A crusader - a holy warrior - a defender of truth and justice - was that the way my sister saw herself? Was she so caught up in their self-righteous nonsense that she genuinely believed she was fighting for what was right? How could anyone be so blind? I watched as she knelt beside them, her hand moving towards Rogue's face - then she stopped. Of course. How could she use her healing power when it wasn't safe to touch Rogue's skin? Wolverine gave another angry yell and swiped his claws at Recyclo. My silent Brother dodged effortlessly, and Vertigo back-flipped to kick Wolverine from behind. The X-Man stumbled, and Recyclo formed two blades, thrusting them deep into Wolverine's throat.

 "_Recyclo!!" yelled Pyro furiously._

Recyclo walked away unrepentantly, his back to Pyro, as Wolverine fell to the ground, his blood spilling on to the earth. He wasn't dead. There was just enough life left in him to kick-start his healing power, and as the blades disappeared into the thin air they had once been, the skin on his throat was mended back into place, and his eyes snapped open.

 "Come on! While they're distracted!" Pyro yelled.

He had the remote control in his hand, summoning the helicopter. Cassandra and Gemini were both on their feet and hurrying after him as fast as they could. Vertigo grabbed Pyro's arm as he passed, "Wait a minute! What about their jet?"

 "If we get away quickly enough, they won't be able to follow us!" said Pyro.

 "No - that isn't what I meant! Why don't we steal it?"

I could have sworn a gleam appeared in our leader's eyes. He looked at Vertigo, "Can you fly it?"

 "I reckon so."

 "OK. Let's do it. No, wait - we have to find Mole and the others first."

I had already reached the landing ramp of the X-jet, and I glanced into its interior, "Pyro - they're in here!"

The unconscious forms of Mole, Scarab and Atlas were in the passenger compartment of the aircraft. My sister must have been left responsible for guarding them, until she'd been called on to use her power to heal Rogue. As that thought passed through my mind, I looked back to where the X-Men were clustered around the fallen Rogue. As much as I hated them, I didn't want her to die. The X-Men weren't evil - they were just dangerously delusional and mis-led. It was with a slight twinge of relief that I saw my sister's hand touching Rogue's face, and the wound in her chest closing up as she was healed. My sister pulled her hand away before Rogue's power activated, and both of them looked up to see me looking back at them. Annie - Crusader - opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, then I heard her telepathic voice in my mind:

_Gary__ - what are you doing? Why are you with the Brotherhood?_

"Come on!" said Pyro, as the others hurried past me into the interior of the jet.

I went after them, and Vertigo and Recyclo ran to sit at the controls.

 "If I can't pilot this thing, you're going to have do some pretty quick re-programming of the auto-pilot," Vertigo told him.

Recyclo said nothing. Pyro slapped the button to bring the landing ramp back up, and as Vertigo hit the controls, the jet ascended into the air. 

 "OK - hold on to all your parts," he warned.

He pushed the jet into forward thrust, and each of us was thrown backwards at the sudden acceleration. Gemini stumbled and I caught her in my arms. Pyro had obviously travelled on this thing before, as he was braced against the interior wall, his hand out to steady Cassandra. When our acceleration began to level out, we regained our balance, and Vertigo grinned back at the rest of us, "I can't _believe_ we actually managed to steal their jet. Actually, neither could they. I was looking at them through the front view-port - oh, you should have seen the expressions on their faces!"

 "They underestimated us," said Pyro.

Gemini was making no attempts to escape from my arms, and it wasn't until Cassandra began glaring at her that she disentangled herself from me. Cassie and I came together and kissed.

 "Are you OK?" I asked her.

 "Yeah," she said, wincing slightly with pain. "That lightning woman hit me in the side, but it's not too bad. I'll live."

I kissed her once more, then glanced down. Our unconscious friends were still lying on the floor. I decided to try and make them more comfortable, so I lifted Atlas' body to place him on one of the seats. Cassandra and Gemini did likewise with Scarab, and I picked up the small form of Mole to leave him beside the others. Pyro had walked forward to the cockpit, and I sensed that all was not well with him.

 "Recyclo," he said icily. "I want you to scan the jet and make sure there aren't any homing devices that they can use to track us. After that I want a word with you."

Recyclo said nothing, but got up to do as he had been asked. Suddenly a thought occurred to me.

 "What about the helicopter?" I asked. "Are we just leaving it there?"

 "Of course not," said Pyro. "Its navigational computer contains the co-ordinates of our base. We can't let the X-Men find that."

 "So we're going back for it?"

 "No," he held up the remote control, "I've signalled it. It's following us. It's not as fast as the jet, but it'll get to the island eventually."

 "Does this mean the X-Men can't go anywhere?" said Gemini. "I mean, without their jet, they're pretty immobile, right?"

 "No - they have three," I said. "Well, two now."

We were on our way back to the island, and considerably better off than when we'd set out that morning. As I took Cassandra in my arms once again, I reflected on our victory. Pyro was right - they had underestimated us. They'd obviously thought we were just stupid kids. Maybe now they knew differently. Young as we might be, we were every bit as powerful as they were. We were fighting to save our species, whereas they were following the crazy notions of some old guy who'd died years ago. We were in the right, and they were in the wrong. And in the end, if there was any justice in this world, those in the right would win. And when the world was free of humans, the X-Men would see how wrong they had been, and they would come before us and thank us for what we had done.

A/N: Thought I'd chuck a couple of random film quotes into this chapter. :-) Did you spot them? 

A/N 2: my website is now up at www.geocities.com/capnsmirk   --- I'll try to add some content soon! If you have any suggestions please let me know, and please keep reviewing this story.


	8. The Next Stage

  
Chapter Eight  
  
I looked through the view-port as the building disappeared further and further into the distance. As I watched, Pyro hit the button that activated the explosives we'd planted. I couldn't hear anything over the distance, but I could see quite clearly the building erupting into an orange fireball that spat debris in all directions. They were little more than black specks against the landscape, but I could make out the shapes of the X-Men as they hurried towards the destroyed building, no doubt trying to help any human survivors. Idiots, I thought angrily. If they put half as much effort into protecting mutants as they put into protecting humans, maybe Marina would still be alive.  
After a few minutes, Recyclo's voice came from the rear section of the aircraft, "The jet seems clean."  
"Are you sure?" said Pyro.  
"As sure as I can be. Any tracking device would have to include some kind of transmitter - and I can't find anything like that."  
"OK, good. Now sit down."  
Recyclo took one of the rear seats in the cockpit area, and Pyro turned to face him, "What the hell was all that about?!"  
"I don't know what you mean."  
"Don't play evasive with me! You know exactly what I'm talking about! You tried to kill at least three of the X-Men!"  
"Of course. They're our enemies."  
"That doesn't mean we can kill them just because we feel like it! They're mutants, dammit! How many times have I made it clear that we do not – under any circumstances – kill other mutants?!"  
Recyclo opened his mouth to respond, but Pyro cut him off angrily, "Shut up! That was a rhetorical question! Recyclo, were you or were you not aware that I gave a direct order not to kill any of the X-Men?"  
Recyclo said nothing; it was probably another rhetorical question. Pyro was still furious, "If you refuse to obey my orders, then fine – you can do things your way. But not with us. If you ever do anything like that again, you're out of the Brotherhood."  
"He's out?" Gemini gasped.  
"Shut up, Gemini! I hope you all realise just how serious this is! I know you think we've won a great victory, but if we have to kill other mutants to do it, it's not a victory at all! Remember – we don't let our kind die, no matter whose side they're on. If we let mutants die, we're just the same as the X-Men."  
He was right. It was no good achieving dominance over our enemies, if we had to kill them in the process. We had to show that we were stronger not only physically, but morally as well. It was wrong to try and kill people who didn't even realise they were doing wrong. One day they would see the error of their ways, and all mutants would come together to form a world-wide Brotherhood. How I longed for that day.  
Pyro obviously felt Recyclo had been suitably reprimanded, as he rose and headed for the back of the jet. Recyclo, silent and emotionless, resumed his place beside Vertigo. Idly I wondered what was going through his mind. It was never easy to tell with Recyclo. Was he angry at Pyro for yelling at him? Was he sorry because he knew he'd done wrong? Did he simply not care at all? I could only guess. Whatever he was feeling, I knew he'd never show it.  
"Gladiator?" came a female voice.  
I looked over my shoulder. It was Cassandra. She motioned me towards her, and I walked over, "What's up?"  
Gemini was standing beside her, and Cassandra lowered her voice, "I just had a thought. I think I know who the traitor might be."  
"What?! Who?"  
"Sshh, keep your voice down," she hissed. "I don't want anyone else to hear. You and Gemini are the only ones I know I can trust. Well, and Pyro of course. I wanted to let you know what I was thinking before I told him."  
"Go on."  
"All right. When you were in the computer room last night and the traitor hit you, you said it felt metallic, right?"  
"Yeah. It was like a lead weight smashed into my face. Why?"  
She didn't say anything, instead turning her gaze towards the three figures who were still slumped unconscious on their seats. I followed her eyes, until I was looking where she was – at the adamantium fists of Mole.  
"You think it's him?" Gemini whispered.  
"I don't want to think of it being any of us," said Cassie. "But it makes sense. Here's something else: the three of them were meant to be guarding the front door, but it looks as if the X-Men caught them without too much of a fight. If Mole had used his fists like we know he can, there would have been more than one battered and bruised X-Man waiting for us."  
"Well," I said. "You could say the same about Atlas or Scarab. There was no evidence that those two put up much resistance either."  
"Ah, but here's the thing," Cassie replied. "Part of Mole's mutation is his amazing sense of smell – like a real mole's, I should think. He'd have been the first one to detect the presence of the X-Men. What if he deliberately didn't warn the other two, and let them get captured?"  
My eyes widened slightly. It was possible. The way she'd put it forward, it made sense. Mole could be the one – but he hated humans as much as the rest of us, didn't he?  
"I'm not sure," I said. "I mean, we all saw him fighting against the humans in the city that time, didn't we? In fact, he was the one who started that brawl."  
"I know. That's why I'm not sure. That's why I wanted to talk to you guys about it before I suggested it to Pyro."  
Gemini frowned, "What if Mole started that fracas so he could draw suspicion away from himself?"  
"Why would he do that? We didn't even know there was a traitor then, did we?"  
"I guess not," she said, then giggled. "But a guy with the name Mole – isn't that a bit of an obvious name for a spy?"  
I shrugged. Cassandra said, "So you think I should tell Pyro?"  
"Yes. He's probably thinking along similar lines. Not much gets past him."  
We glanced over at our leader, who had opened up a panel in the wall and was fiddling with a part of the jet's mechanics. Cassandra walked over towards him, and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned, and she began whispering to him what we had just been discussing. Cassie had obviously been giving plenty of thought to trying to work out who the traitor was. I felt it was actually easier to first work out who the traitor wasn't, and work from there. Well, I knew it wasn't me. I knew it wasn't Pyro. I had convinced myself that both Cassandra and Gemini were innocent. What about the others? Well, I could rule out Recyclo. However weird he might be, however much we didn't like him, there was no denying that he hated the X-Men every bit as much as we did. He had tried to kill Cyclops, Wolverine and Rogue – and almost succeeded – there was no way that he could be an X-Man in disguise.  
As for the rest – well, there were no concrete reasons to rule them out. They'd all fought with seeming passion and determination against the humans that time in New York, but clearly one of them had been faking it. Was it Vertigo, who didn't appear to care about anyone or anything – or was that merely a clever way of hiding his true feelings? Was it Atlas, the paranoid, ever stressed-out one – was he feeling the strain of being a spy and losing his cool? Was it Scarab – tough, dependable, yet sadly lacking in any great intelligence – with his immense strength, he could certainly have packed a powerful enough punch to knock me out last night. Or could it be Mole, as Cassandra suspected? The evidence certainly seemed to point at him, but hey – there was plenty of evidence pointing at me – were we just jumping to conclusions? I didn't know. Hopefully Pyro would be able to work it out.  
I went from thinking about the traitor to thinking about my sister, who I had just come face to face with. We hadn't come to blows – circumstances had dictated otherwise – and my feelings over that were mixed. In a way I was relieved that I hadn't had to face somebody who might have been powerful enough to defeat me. At the same time I wanted to fight Crusader; I wanted to prove that I was stronger, that we had nothing to fear from the X-Men. I wanted to prove myself to the rest of the Brotherhood, to Pyro, to Cassandra most of all – and to the X-Men as well. There was no doubt that while I had been at their school, I had been treated like a child. I wasn't a child – I was fourteen, practically an adult – and they hadn't respected that. Pyro had been the one to see my strength despite my age, and had given me the chance. If I'd stayed with the X-Men, I'd probably still be sitting in classes without seeing any action whatsoever. I was glad I had left them. There was nothing for me there now.  
  
Despite our leader's refusal to get excited, we arrived back at the island in high spirits. Mole and the others had regained consciousness, and Gemini was busy describing the battle to them. I noticed that she left out one or two details, such as when she had been hit by optic blasts from Cyclops, and she could only skim over the parts she had missed due to being knocked out. I scanned their faces, looking for any indication that one of them wasn't pleased at the victory over the X-Men, but there was nothing. We landed, and Pyro called us to the meeting room.  
"OK," he began. "First of all, despite what I said earlier, today was a victory. We accomplished our mission, we faced our enemies, and we suffered nothing more than minor injuries."  
Gemini had been the worst off, with a nasty burn on her side where Cyclops' ray had hit her. Atlas, who was the closest thing we had to a medic, had used his horticultural knowledge to gather some herbs from the garden, and mixed them together into a healing solution, which had helped eased Gemini's pain.  
"However," Pyro went on. "We are far from achieving our final victory. It's in our sight, but it isn't going to be easy. The X-Men and the humans will try to hinder us every step of the way. We've already proved that we can beat both of them, and we'll have to continue doing so if we want to succeed in eradicating the sub-creatures. Now, to business. I know the X-Men and they'll recover quickly from this setback. We have to make our next move while they're still uncertain. By that I mean we're leaving on our next mission within the hour."  
I raised my eyebrows. Within the hour?  
"We'll be going to Scotland," he said before I had to chance to think any more. "To Edinburgh, in fact. Should be familiar territory for you, Gladiator. You used to live there, didn't you?"  
"Yeah. Why are we going there?"  
"Because the human scum are holding a massive anti-mutant demonstration in Britain this week. They're starting at Edinburgh Castle, and marching down to Buckingham Palace in London. They feel that British legislation doesn't deal strongly enough with mutants, and they want to put their viewpoint across in a big way. As two of you will know already, in Britain it's already law that mutants have to be registered. These humans want to go one step further. They want mutants to be kept in secure facilities to ensure that we can't threaten them. They want mutants to be sterilised to prevent us from breeding. They want to fund research into pre-natal treatments that will reduce the chance of a baby being born with mutations. In short, they want to wipe us out – that's what their demonstration is all about. We're going to launch our own demonstration – and by some amazing coincidence, it's going to coincide with theirs," he finished sarcastically.  
"What are we going to do, exactly?" asked the deadpan Recyclo.  
"Kill the demonstrators, as simple as that. Them and anyone who is following them. These people clearly think that they can do whatever they like to mutants without any threat of retribution. The X-Men's pro-human stance is clearly making the scum overconfident, and too many mutants are living in fear for their lives. We will send a message across the world, to let the humans know that we will fight back when they try to hurt us, and to let our fellow mutants know that somebody is willing to stand up for them."  
Gemini smiled. Mole was nodding his head and cracked his knuckles with a horrible metallic krak that made everybody wince. Recyclo asked, "Where do we hit them? In Edinburgh or in London?"  
"Both if necessary," said Pyro. "Gladiator, you know Edinburgh, so you can help me decide where to launch our attack from. If things go wrong, we'll attack the scum again when they reach London. Recyclo, you're from London, so you can help me there."  
I nodded. Recyclo made no response. Pyro switched on the projector and an image appeared on the wall behind him. I looked more closely, and saw it was a picture of a woman, probably about Pyro's age – however old he was, thirty-something.  
"This is the leader of the demonstration," he said, pointing to the image. "Her name is Claire Stewart and she's a renowned anti-mutant speaker. We don't know why she hates our kind so much, but she's given numerous speeches and written several books on the subject, and doubtless made a lot of mutants' lives hell in the process. She is our primary target and must be eliminated at all costs."  
Fine. No problem. Just another piece of human scum who didn't deserve to exist. As I looked at her picture, I wondered what she was doing right now, and if she had any idea that there were mutants – the mutants she hated so much – planning to kill her at this very moment. That thought made me uncomfortable for a moment – the thought that we were going to kill somebody who was just going about their life with no idea that that life was about to end – then I remembered that she was a threat to our species, a sub-creature, and had no right to live. I cast my doubts out of my mind.  
Pyro switched off the projector and said, "OK. Item number two: our little spy. You'll be glad to know I've been busy with the problem, and I've narrowed down the list of suspects somewhat. Although it pains me and sickens me to think that any of you is betraying me after all I've done for you, there is no other explanation. I will be speaking to each of you individually, to give you all a chance to prove your innocence – and I expect to discover the truth before long."  
  



	9. Betrayed Once More

Chapter Nine

Travelling in our newly acquired jet, the journey across the Atlantic Ocean took less than two hours. As the shores of Britain appeared in the distant horizon, I realised it was the first time I had been back home since my parents had taken me to the X-Men's school. My life had been irreversibly changed that day – there was no going back now. There was no way I would ever go back to the life I had had before, living amongst humans, going to school with humans, being hated and attacked daily by the scum. My parents had thought that bringing me up in an environment full of humans would make me like the sub-creatures. It hadn't worked. It had worked on my sister, but I wasn't as blindly trusting as she was. I was capable of thinking for myself.

And now I was going back, back to Edinburgh, back to where I had been born and lived almost all of my first fourteen years. Back to the humans who had always hated me, and who were now rising up against my kind. It was time to show them that there was no place for them on our Earth. It was time to avenge every mutant who had ever been hurt or killed due to the bigotry and hatred of humanity. Marina. Overlord. Toad. Sabretooth. All of them had died because humans wouldn't accept us. It was time for revenge.

It was getting on for the late evening – due to the time difference – when we touched down in an area of wasteland at the outskirts of Edinburgh. Pyro assured us that the jet was undetectable by radar, so we assumed nobody was aware of our arrival. This was a pretty remote area, and the chances of anybody coming out here were slim indeed, but Pyro wasn't taking any chances. He had Recyclo program the jet's auto-pilot to respond to his remote signal, and he had Vertigo park the jet inside an old abandoned warehouse. Once our leader was satisfied that nobody would find it, we were on our way to the city centre.

"The human scum will be starting their march within the hour," he said as we went. "We should get there in enough time to be ready for them."

"It's a bit dark, isn't it? Why didn't they start in the morning?" Gemini asked curiously.

"Because they spent the morning giving speeches to the adoring crowds," Pyro said darkly. "They're going to stop at each major city on the route to London, hold rallies, churn out every kind of anti-mutant propaganda – their hope is that the King will greet them when they reach Buckingham Palace, and add his voice to their cause."

"But they aren't going to get there, right?" said Mole.

"Not if we can help it. Gladiator, which is the quickest route we can take?"

I quickly brought up a mental map of my home city, then pointed ahead, "That way."

"Let's go."

Before long we reached the first housing estates at the edge of Edinburgh, and people glanced in our direction as we walked along the streets. This was not a pleasant area of the city – I'd never been here before – and most of the looks we got were suspicious and hostile, since we were clearly better dressed and better fed than the people who lived around here. There were no obvious outwards signs that we were mutants – Pyro had made sure of that; he didn't want to tip off the sub-creatures to our presence – but nonetheless nobody tried to approach us. Mole was wearing gloves to cover his metallic fists, and Cassandra wore a baseball cap to hide the small area on top of her head that was visibly mutated. It was fully covered by her hair, but Pyro didn't want to take any chances. The rest of us had nothing unusual, appearance-wise, and for all these humans knew we were just a group of ordinary people walking down the road. Quite why a man and eight teenagers would be seemingly casually walking through the middle of West Pilton was something they could only guess at.

"Um," said Atlas nervously. "Sorry to bring this up again, but I just want to make sure – there is absolutely no chance of the X-Men getting in our way this time?"

"If we act quickly enough, they shouldn't have enough time to respond," said Pyro. "And if the worst comes to the worst, we've already shown we've got the beating of them in a fight. We may have to face them. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Uh, no. Just wanted to make sure."

We went on in silence. Pyro was setting a quick pace, and it didn't take too long for us to reach the city centre. By this time, the trickle of humans on the streets had turned into a massive crowd, clearly waiting for the demonstration march to begin. As we moved on, more slowly this time as we to push our way through the crowd, we could begin to hear a voice, amplified and booming out of banks of loudspeakers that had been set up on either side of the road. We went a little further, and then I could see her. It was Claire Stewart, the woman whose picture Pyro had shown us. The leader of the demonstration, and the one we had come to kill above all others. She was standing on a makeshift platform in the centre of the Royal Mile, the road that led to the Castle, holding a microphone and speaking to the crowd. From the looks of things, they were totally caught up in her passion and hanging on her every word.

"Do we want our children in school with mutants?" her voice blasted out of the speaker nearest us.

"NO!!" the crowd roared.

"Do we want to walk into supermarkets, restaurants, cinemas, polling booths alongside mutants?"

"NO!!"

"Do we want mutants to breed together and create even more mutants?"

"NO!!"

"Do we want a Britain that's safe for us and our families?"

"YES!!"

"Do we want mutants to be fully registered and kept in secure units where they can't hurt our children?"

"YES!!"

Gemini had clenched her fists, every muscle taut, and was almost spitting with fury. Pyro put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Stay calm. It's not yet time to act."

"I guess this is the side of humanity that the X-Men choose not to see," said Vertigo.

Recyclo merely said, "She's a good public speaker."

"So was Adolf Hitler," said Pyro. "All right, it looks as if they're going to start marching soon. All of you get ready. On my signal – hey, wait a minute – where's Mole?"

I glanced behind me. The rest of the Brotherhood were there, gathered loosely around Pyro, but I couldn't see Mole anywhere. Was he so small that we had lost him in the crowd? Had he taken a wrong turn? Pyro's hand moved automatically towards his communicator, but with all the noise the crowd was making, there was no hope of using it.

"Where is he?" said Cassandra.

"Oh, he's probably got lost," said Pyro. "He'll find us soon enough, once the killing starts. OK, I'll signal you when I want you to move. Spread out a bit. We want to attack from as many directions as we can."

"What's your signal gonna be?" Scarab asked.

Pyro smirked, "You'll know it when you see it."

Vertigo whispered to me, "Somehow I think we will."

Our group separated, and we moved off singly or in pairs. Cassandra and I stayed together, and we moved over across the street to stand on the other side, ready to attack from there when Pyro signalled us. The woman was still yelling into the microphone, stirring up the crowd into an ever fiercer frenzy of anti-mutant hatred. At any moment she could let it all spill over, and woe betide any mutant who got caught in their way. Except us, of course. There were enough of us to stand up to them.

"Are we going to stand and do nothing while mutants threaten everything we hold dear?" the woman demanded.

"NO!!" the crowd roared in response.

My anger began to rise once more as I heard her venting her stupid bigoted hatred. What was it about humans that meant they couldn't stand to live with us? Why did they think we weren't good enough, that we didn't deserve to live on this planet? It wasn't _their_ planet – they had no right to decide who lived on it and who didn't. We were the next stage of human evolution – we were what they were meant to become. It was impossible to fight against evolution, but they were stupidly and mindlessly trying nonetheless. _It doesn't matter how many of us you kill, sub-creatures_, I thought angrily, _there will always be more of us._ Then I amended, _but even one mutant death is too many. What I do today, I do for __Marina__ and the life you took away from her._

A shout came from my left.

"A mutant!"

"We've got a mutant!"

A gang of youths, guys probably about sixteen or seventeen, were pushing their way through the crowd to the front, dragging a struggling figure between them. The crowd pressed closer, eager to see what was going on, and Cassandra and I moved forward with them. The youths – or 'neds' as they were called here – were manhandling a small girl, maybe seven or eight years old, roughly pulling her weakly resisting body towards the platform. Her clothes were torn and dirty; her eyes were streaked with tears; she was screaming at the top of her voice, begging to be released, begging for rescue.

"We've got a mutant!" the lead ned announced to the woman with the microphone.

"Kill the bastard!" somebody demanded, and the rest of the crowd roared their agreement.

One of the neds had a switch-blade knife in his hand, and was moving towards the girl. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe a mutant – a child – was going to be killed in broad daylight, in front of thousands of onlookers. It was like a sacrifice before some obscene altar. The crowd had been stirred up into such a fury that they would probably have killed the little girl themselves. The neds pushed the child forward, and she stumbled and fell on to her knees. Free of their grasp, the girl struggled to her feet and desperately tried to run to safety. It seemed a hopeless attempt – she was too small to have any chance of outrunning them – but as I watched she began to accelerate away from them, her tiny form hurrying across the ground faster and faster, until she was moving at unbelievable speed. Of course – this had to be her mutation. Someone in the crowd grabbed her as she went past, and flung her on to the ground once more. A cheer went up from the rest of the humans. My blood began to race in my veins, and fury flowed into my heart like fuel in a reactor. It would only take a spark to make it explode. Cassandra put a hand on my arm, "Wait – wait for Pyro's signal!"

Forget Pyro's signal! The igniting spark came when the small mutant, cowering in terror, raised her hands to try and protect herself, and was kicked to the ground. She collapsed into a pathetic, huddled shape on the road, sobbing uncontrollably; she had given up screaming for help, clearly thinking it was hopeless, that nobody cared about her. She was wrong. I pushed Cassandra's arm away from me, and shoved aside the humans who stood in the crowd in front of me. The neds had clustered around the fallen mutant again. Walking out into the street towards them, I clenched my fists and felt myself ascending into a berserk state.

"Leave her alone!" I yelled.

My voice rang out above the cheers of the crowd. The neds turned in surprise. The humans in the crowd fell silent, shocked that someone was speaking out on to the terrorised mutant's behalf. For a moment all the humans were silent and still, as I continued to stride towards the neds. Then the lead ned gaped and said, "Wait a minute! I know you! You're Gary Rosiçky!"

So he knew my name, or what my name had once been. He was probably one of the scum humans I had gone to school with in my past life.

"This bastard's a mutant!" the ned yelled to the crowd.

The humans surrounding us began to give angry shouts and yells, and at any moment they might come running towards me. I didn't care. Two of the neds had grabbed the young girl mutant, and were holding on to her sobbing, unresisting form.

"Let her go!" I demanded.

"Go to hell," the lead ned snapped.

"You first."

I breathed a jet of flame directly at his face, and he screamed as the fire took hold of him. Collapsing to the floor, he rolled around desperately to try and put the flames out. The crowd of humans reacted in shock, some backing away, some running, most of them screaming in anger or in fear. The rest of the neds were shaken, and a couple of them began to flee. The others hesitated, then took another look at the vengeful juggernaut that strode towards them. They ran. The little mutant was pushed to the ground, and she lay there trembling, clearly expecting nothing but death, praying only that it would be quick and painless. I knelt beside her. When I put my hand on her tiny shoulder, she jerked horribly, and screamed, "Please! Please no!"

"It's OK," I said. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

Hearing the gentle, reassuring tone of my voice, the child looked up. In her eyes was nothing but sorrow and pain, clearly the result of eight or nine long years of it. She looked into my eyes and saw what was there: anger at those who had hurt her, concern for her safety, and a willingness to protect her. It was something she had probably never known before, and something she desperately needed to have. Not quite knowing what I was doing, I let my instincts take over, holding the little girl in my arms, hugging her gently, letting her feel the warmth and protectiveness of my embrace. She didn't know what was going on either, but she reacted in the same way as any child who was desperately seeking protection from an adult, putting her arms around me as far as they would go, and letting her body rest in my arms, releasing all of her worries and pains, knowing that there was somebody who would look after her and wouldn't let any harm come to her.

I felt a sharp sensation as a knife was held at the back of my neck. A voice snapped, "All right, freak. Looks like we've got two of you to kill instead of just one."

The tiny mutant looked up fearfully. In her eyes I saw the reflection of the human standing behind me. It was one of the neds, with two or three more gathered around him. They'd clearly regained their confidence and come after me with their knives.

"I want you to do something," I whispered to the child. "I want you to hold my hand and don't let go, OK? Can you do that for me?"

She nodded, and clasped my hand. I took a deep breath and called on my camouflage mutation. It activated, and I disappeared from the humans' view. It spread from my body into the girl's, and she vanished too. As the humans reacted in surprise, I swung my free arm as hard as I could, knocking at least one of them to the ground. While they were still stunned, I scooped up the little girl into my arms, and hurried back towards the crowd. Ordinarily I would have stayed to fight the scum, but not while I had the tiny mutant to protect.

More screams erupted from behind me, and I turned round to see what was going on. A huge jet of flame had shot up into the sky, and from the sounds of things at least one sub-creature had been set on fire. This would be Pyro's signal. Whether or not he had wanted to act now, or if I had pre-empted him, I didn't know. It didn't matter. Our own 'demonstration' had begun. I looked around for Cassandra. She was there, a few feet away from me. I was still invisible and she couldn't see me. Deactivating my camouflage, I hurried over towards my girlfriend.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yeah. Here I'm going to go and join Pyro. Keep an eye on her for me."

The little mutant resisted briefly as I tried to leave her with Cassandra, but she looked into Cassie's eyes and saw the same protective instincts she had seen in mine. She stopped struggling, and stood beside Cassie, holding her hand tightly. I knew my girlfriend could use her power to keep the two of them safe. I was heading back into the fight.

As I went back, I could see that the rest of my friends were already in action. Many of the scum were fleeing for their lives, but a good number – driven into a killing frenzy by the woman's speech – were fighting back. Balls of flame were spreading from somewhere to my left – that had to be Pyro, but I couldn't see him in the crowd. Vertigo was nearby, surrounded by a group of four of five humans with murder in their eyes. At least one of them was armed with a knife, but it didn't make a difference. Vertigo ducked his shoulder to avoid a clumsy punch from a human, bringing his knee up into the sub-creature's face. The human screamed and was thrown backwards, blood pouring from its nose. Vertigo jumped, kicked out with both feet, sending two humans sprawling, twisted as he came down, pushed away from the ground with his hands, and hit the last human with a two-footed kick to the throat.

Scarab was grabbing hold of any humans who got close enough to him, his arm snaking around their necks and snapping them as if they were twigs. He wasn't as nimble as Vertigo, and several kicks and punches were landed on his body, but his tough form shrugged them off, ignoring the pain.

I could see Recyclo on my right, a blade in each hand, slicing and dicing his way through the humans who tried to subdue him. One human grabbed his wrist and twisted, forcing him to drop one of the blades. Recyclo merely formed another knife out of thin air, and stabbed it into the sub-creature's chest. The rest of them fled away from him, terrified beyond belief at the prospect of a man who could create deadly weapons out of nothing. Recyclo picked a couple of them off with long-range knife throws, then turned his attention aside, looking for other targets.

The only other friend I could see was Gemini. She too was surrounded by angry sub-creatures, and was fighting them off. Small and physically weak as she might be, Gemini had spent time learning martial arts from Vertigo, and I saw evidence of this now, as both of her acted perfectly in tandem, blocking attacks from the humans then retaliating with lightning fast counter-blows. She was in no danger of being hurt, and didn't need my help.

I scanned the milling crowd for any trace of the woman we had come to kill, the leader of the demonstrators, Claire Stewart. She had been standing on top of the platform with her microphone, but the platform was now empty with the microphone dangling on a cable from its stand. Typical human scum! She'd speak out against mutants to anyone who would listen, but the second one of us showed up, she disappeared from sight! All talk and no action…she should have been an X-Man. Hell, she'd have fitted in perfectly with my sister and her mutant-hating friends.

She had to still be around somewhere. She couldn't have got away that fast. I looked around once more, trying to see anyone who resembled her. Most of the humans left fighting us were men or teenagers, so an adult woman should have been easy to spot. I couldn't see her – she must have been hiding somewhere. A terrified human ran past without giving me a second glance, clearly fleeing from one of my friends. It was a woman, probably in her thirties – it was the one we were looking for! It was the speaker, the woman named Stewart! I hurried after her, determined that she would not escape, determined that I would accomplish our mission. Seeing Recyclo ahead of her, she veered off to the side, and I caught up with her, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. She screamed and tried to pull out of my grasp, but she could never have matched my strength and I held her tightly.

"Let me go!" she yelled. "Let me go, _freak_!"

"Shut up!" I snapped. "Not so brave now, are you? What was that you were saying a moment ago? Something about how much you hated mutants?"

"You're filth! Let me go!"

"I said _shut_ _up_! How many mutants' lives have you made hell with your hatred of us?! Huh?! Answer me!!"

"Filth!"

Grabbing her around the neck with my other hand, I lifted her off the ground, and any last hint of bravado disappeared from her.

"Please…let me go…" she begged in terror.

I squeezed her throat harder. She choked out the words, "Please…I've got children…please don't kill me…"

"_Why should you be allowed to have children_?!" I yelled. "If you won't look after your mutant offspring, you shouldn't be allowed to have any at all!"

"Don't kill me…please…"

She was terrified beyond any rational discussion, and I was wasting time talking to her. What was the point anyway? The stupid, narrow-minded humans would never change their mind about us. Words would never solve anything. Only action could help save our kind. There was only one action I could take now. This human's life was about to end. I held her helpless in my grasp, my fist slowly squeezing her windpipe tighter and tighter, gradually cutting off her breathing. Her life was literally in my hand, and her death was merely a statistic to me – to us – just another human who didn't deserve to live. She had done more than anyone to make mutants, especially children, suffer. She was exactly the kind of person the X-Men sought to protect, and exactly the kind of person we had to eliminate. And here she was right in front of me. It was so obvious and so easy.

And yet, I hesitated. Something, somewhere inside of me, made me think twice. Yes, she was an enemy. Yes, she had hurt mutants. Yes, she would continue to do so if we didn't stop her. Yes, her death was our objective for the mission. But still…killing her like this…it didn't feel right. She was helpless – there was nothing she could possibly do to stop me killing her – and that touched a feeling somewhere inside my soul. How could I kill somebody who was utterly vulnerable and defenceless before me? How could I kill someone who was so much weaker and punier than I was? How could I end a life so easily when I was supposed to be saving them?

I pushed my doubts away. It had to be done. It wasn't nice, it wasn't pleasant, but it had to be done, for the greater good. _Marina_. Any time I doubted what I was doing, all I had to do was remember the girl I had loved. Humans had hated her, and humans had killed her. For that I would never forgive them. The humans had to die – all the humans. Every sub-creature that we killed was one less sub-creature who could hurt mutant children. That was what we were fighting for: the protection of our young, the oldest and most powerful instinct of all. I threw away my uncertainties. This woman was going to die. I tightened my grip further, and she clutched desperately at my fist around her neck.

A sharp gust of wind came out of nowhere from behind me, and I almost lost my balance. I had forgotten how violent the weather could be here in Scotland, and how quickly it could change. I was too used to the warm, calm climes of North America. Knowing my luck, it would probably start raining soon. Overhead I heard a rumble of thunder, and a jagged fork of lightning split the air with a deafening crack. What the hell was going on? A thunderstorm couldn't start that quickly! Or – wait a minute – could it? The wind around me became stronger and stronger, and with a slowly sickening feeling I turned to look behind me.

Storm stood at the end of the road, her eyes entirely white, the gusts of wind emanating from her outstretched hands, as another bolt of lightning cracked through the air, striking the road not ten feet away from where I was standing. I struggled to keep my balance as the wind approached gale force, and the human woman renewed her efforts to escape from my grip. In the corner of my eye came a flash of light, and somebody kicked me in the side of the head. I was stunned and thrown to the ground, losing my grip of the human, who collapsed to the floor, gasping desperately for air. Angrily I rolled over and got to my feet to attack the one who had kicked me.

It was Nightcrawler. As I rushed towards him, drawing back my fist to smash into his face, he teleported, disappearing from my view. A boot in my back told me where he had reappeared. I spun round on the spot, breathing a jet of flame at him, but the force of the wind around me blew it harmlessly aside. I swung another punch, but Nightcrawler ducked easily, and twisted to kick me once more, knocking me to the ground. The wind around me was now like a hurricane, and as I struggled to get back to my feet, it swept me to the floor once again. 

How the hell had they got here so quickly? If they'd set out as soon as they'd heard about the attack, there was no way they could have got here by now! They had to have known we were coming here! But how? How could the traitor have contacted them? Pyro hadn't allowed anyone to use the computer room – did the spy have some other way of contacting his fellow X-Men? There had to be…there was no other explanation…was there? Could it be coincidence? Could the X-Men have found out about the demonstration the humans had planned, and guessed that it would be our next target? That was possible…but I couldn't make any assumptions. If the spy had some other way of communicating with our enemies, then we were in serious trouble.

The wind suddenly dropped, and as I looked I saw Storm coming under attack from Vertigo. He ducked, twisted, kicked her in the side, then had to throw himself headlong to avoid another bolt of lightning from the skies. While she was distracted, I wrenched myself upright, and turned to finish Nightcrawler. He wasn't there. He had teleported off elsewhere, and I looked around hurriedly to see where. Pyro was yelling orders to the rest of the Brotherhood, gathering them together, making them aware of the new threat. I could see him directing Cassandra and the tiny mutant towards a position where he and the others could cover them. I still couldn't see Atlas or Mole, but the rest were hurrying over towards Pyro. I could understand his tactics. Storm and Nightcrawler were the only two we hadn't confronted earlier, and thus they must have been the first ones to get out here. The other X-Men wouldn't be far behind…we had to finish these two fast, and get out of here before the rest of our enemies – including my sister – arrived.


	10. Sacrifice

Chapter Ten

The humans had long since fled, and I was hurrying over towards the main group when I heard Storm shouting something to Pyro, "John! Stop! We don't want to fight! We just want to talk!"

"We don't have anything to talk about," Pyro snapped.

"Just listen to me, just for a few minutes. John – "

"I don't think there's anybody here who goes by that name."

She sighed impatiently, "All right, then – _Pyro_ – listen to me. What you're doing is wrong!"

"You came all the way here to tell me _that_?" he said sarcastically.

"You know it's true. Why are you doing this? Magneto's gone, Pyro. There's no need to try and prove yourself to him any more."

"Shut up!" said Pyro angrily. "What would you know about it?! Magneto wasn't the monster you always made him out to be! He did more for mutantkind than all of you could possibly do in a hundred years!"

"You're wrong, John, and what you're doing is wrong," Storm gestured towards us. "What's worse, you're leading them down the same path. They're only children, John."

"I told you – _don't_ call me that!" snapped Pyro, losing his cool. "And if you people are so great, why is it that the two best and brightest pupils you ever had went and joined the Brotherhood?"

Storm frowned, "You're talking about Gary…who's the other one?"

He smirked, his confidence returned, "Me, of course."

"John, we don't have time for games! Humans are _dying_! Thousands of them, down in South America, dying from the virus _you_ created!"

"That _was_ what we intended, but save your thanks until they're dead."

"I'm not thanking you! I'm trying to get some sense into your head! People are _dying_, John! Don't you understand? It isn't some stupid game or trick that you're playing! It's real – real pain, real suffering, and real death!"

"I know – but there won't be any of that once the humans are dead."

Storm was angry now. I sensed Pyro was deliberately misunderstanding her, just to infuriate her further. I suspected it was something he had always been good at. Storm took a moment to calm herself, then said simply, "You aren't Magneto, John. Stop pretending to be."

Pyro gave her a cold stare but made no reply. Storm looked at me instead, "Gary – don't you see that what Pyro's telling you to do is wrong? Don't you understand the value of human life?"

"Don't try and talk to me, X-Man!" I snapped. "Keep your crazy delusions to yourself!"

Storm was taken aback, and she turned to Pyro once more, speaking angrily, "I see you've successfully poisoned his mind. In my eyes there's nothing worse than a person who poisons the mind of a child."

Before Pyro could respond, Gemini yelled, "What the hell would _you_ know about it, you human-loving scum?! If it was up to you I'd still be living as a research specimen in a genetics laboratory!! How many mutants have to die before you people wake up and smell what you're shovelling!!"

It was all Pyro could do to restrain Gemini from physically launching herself at Storm. Vertigo took hold of Gemini's arms, and as her burst of anger dissipated, her body relaxed and they let her go. Recyclo's grey eyes stared emotionlessly at Storm, and I could only guess at what was passing through his mind. Gemini demanded, "How can you people justify killing mutants to save your precious humans?! How can you kill your own kind?!

"We don't," Storm answered. "Look, I don't know what Pyro has told you about us, but it sounds as if he's lying to you. We don't kill mutants – ever."

"Right," said Pyro sarcastically. "I'll be sure to mention that to Toad next time I see him."

Storm looked away. Cassandra tugged on Pyro's arm, "Pyro, don't fall for it. She's just trying to stall you until the rest of the X-Men get here."

"You're right," he said, glancing at Storm once more. "Well, we're not going to sit around and wait for them. If they want us, they'll have to catch us."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pyro's hand surreptitiously moving inside his coat. His fingers closed on the jet's remote signaller, and he activated it.

"Time to go, kids," he said.

"John – wait," said Storm.

He ignored her, and turned to leave. We followed him, and I saw that Atlas and Mole were back. Once the crowd of humans had vanished, they must have found us.

"John!" Storm called.

Pyro looked round, "Give it up, Storm. We're not going to back down. The humans are going to die, and there's nothing you can do about it. When it's over, you'll thank us for it."

Storm looked disgusted, "Never."

"We'll see. Give my regards to the Professor."

"He's dead, Pyro."

"Oh. Well, in that case…don't."

He turned his back on her, and we walked on. In the distance I heard the sound of an aircraft approaching, and within seconds we could see the jet overhead, as it slowly dropped down and began to perform a vertical landing.

"Hmm – quicker than I thought," said Pyro.

Cassandra's eyes suddenly widened with horror. For a moment I couldn't think why, then I worked it out. A frown crossed Pyro's face as the jet touched down a few yards away from us, then Recyclo said, "That's not our jet."

"We're in trouble," said Vertigo.

I looked round once more. Nightcrawler had reappeared beside Storm, and the two of them blocked any retreat we might have made. There was no other way off the street – the only way to go was forward, and the jet lay in that direction. As the landing ramp began to descend, I realised we had been tricked, and were trapped, with nowhere to escape. There was no possibility of leaving this battle early. The X-Men clearly intended to finish us off once and for all – it was no better than I would have expected from them. After all, what were a few mutant lives to the human-lovers?

"There's no way out of here," Pyro said. "I guess we fight."

"Wait a minute!" Cassandra exclaimed. "What about – ?"

We looked over, and she gestured to the little girl mutant who was still beside her, holding her hand tightly, confused and terrified by what was going on. She drew closer to Cassandra for protection, trusting that we would be able to keep her safe. Quickly I knelt down to face the small girl, "Listen, things are going to get pretty nasty in a moment. You just stay with Cassandra, OK? She'll keep you out of harm's way. And I – I'm sorry you had to get dragged into this."

"She's a mutant. The X-Men will kill her if they can," said Gemini.

"I'll kill them first," I snapped.

"No you won't," said Pyro. "No mutant will die today."

"Oh yeah?" Vertigo retorted. "Tell that to them."

He pointed to where the other seven X-Men had appeared at the bottom of the landing ramp. Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Iceman, Shock, Shapeshifter – and Crusader. My eyes lingered on my sister as she stood to face us, her gold-pupilled eyes running over each one of us, her telepathic mind no doubt probing our thoughts one at a time.

"Pyro…she'll be trying to read our minds," I said.

"Yeah, Pyro, what do we do?" someone else asked.

Pyro flicked on his cigarette lighter, "I would have thought that was obvious. We fight."

We spread out a bit, until we were standing a few feet apart from each other. For a moment nobody was willing to make the first move. We looked at our enemies, and they looked back at us. Nine of the X-Men. Nine of the Brotherhood. Two Rosiçkys: one Gladiator and one Crusader. Perhaps it was time to see who really was the greatest.

"Pyro!" Cyclops was the one to break the silence. "We've tried to deal with you peacefully! We've tried to talk things over with you! You've left us no choice but to resort to action! This ends here!"

"Well, at least you got that bit right!" Pyro shot back.

Storm was the first one to use her power, and each of us felt the force of a steadily increasing wind on our backs. Overhead came another rumble of thunder, and I knew a lightning fork could strike us at any second. Pyro thrust out his hand, and a massive wall of flame scorched through the air towards the group of X-Men by the jet. Iceman reacted instantly, a jet of ice shooting from his fingertips to form a shield that protected him and his friends. It was just the distraction we needed to start moving. Vertigo was first, hurrying across the open ground, ducking a ruby optic ray, and sending a spinning kick into Iceman's face. Gemini had duplicated herself, and both of her were moving towards Cyclops. Scarab was jolted as a lightning strike from Shock hit his chest, but his hardy form shrugged it off and he kept going. Recyclo's hands formed two blades, and he sent them skimming through the air. Shapeshifter's body liquefied just before the blades could enter his chest, and the knives hit the ground harmlessly. Wolverine seemed to be heading for Cassandra; I hurried over to intercept him. A lightning bolt from the heavens struck the ground where I had just been standing, and I threw a furious look at Storm. Atlas and Mole were heading in her direction. I paid her no more heed. Wolverine extended his claws as he approached my girlfriend, and Cassandra hurriedly backed away, with the tiny mutant in tow.

"Leave her alone, she's just a child!" Cassie cried.

"Oh yeah? And how many human children are dead because of you?" Wolverine spat, advancing on her.

I tackled him from the side, my superior strength knocking him to the ground. I held him down, keeping his claws away from me, and snapped, "Try me for size before picking on a little girl, you coward!"

He reacted quickly, kicking me aside, and springing to his feet instantly. 

"I'm still not finished with you from earlier," he snarled. "You might be Oculus' kid but you and I have got a score to settle."

"I'm shaking."

"You should be."

Wolverine struck first, slashing his claws towards my throat. I dodged to the side, grabbed his arm, and used his momentum to throw him to the ground. Angrily he rose, and raised both sets of claws, keeping his distance this time, circling round me, waiting for an opportunity to strike. My own anger began to flow in my veins. Time to show this X-Man just how much of a 'kid' I really was. Time to show him how a real warrior, a Gladiator, fought. I camouflaged myself, and he swore under his breath as my body disappeared from his sight.

"Now you see me, now you don't," I taunted him. "I'll accept your surrender any time you like."

"Don't push your luck, kid," he snapped.

I had said it just to annoy him. I knew there was no possibility of him yielding, regardless of how badly the odds might be stacked against him. He wasn't the surrendering type. His keen animal senses took over and he sniffed the air while listening intently for anything that might tell him where I was. I came in from his right, a devastating punch hitting him in the side of the head. Wolverine was thrown to the ground, his claws automatically retracting as his body wavered on the brink of unconsciousness. He managed to keep it together, and tried to rally, jumping to his feet and swiping his talons viciously in the direction the punch had come from. I had already moved over to the other side, and I hit him again. He growled with rage, and slashed the air once more; I had to duck back swiftly to avoid being sliced apart. Opening my mouth, I exhaled a huge burst of fire at him. Wolverine had to react in a flash to dive out of the way.

I looked over to check on Cassandra and the child! Damn it! Nightcrawler was on them, no doubt intent on killing the little girl, and I ran over towards them. Cassandra was desperately fending off the blue mutant's attacks, her foresight just about allowing her to deflect his fists and feet, while the child, terrified and upset, was a few feet away, sobbing and trembling, just as she had been when the humans had tried to kill her. Why did the whole world seem so intent on ending this little girl's life? The humans, and now the X-Men. What had she ever done to either of them? It gave birth to a rage that flowed freely in my blood, pushing me into a berserk passion. I grabbed Nightcrawler from behind and hurled him away from Cassandra. He twisted in mid-air, and landed perfectly on both feet.

"Gladiator!"

Cassandra reacted instantly to push me to the ground, as Wolverine's claws swiped from behind. I cursed. My berserk rage had made me lose control of my camouflage. Now my invisibility was gone, and things weren't looking quite so good. I kicked out at Wolverine, but he moved out of the way, and now he and Nightcrawler were both converging on me. I screamed, giving vent to my fury, and the demon inside me took control. Swinging one massive punch followed by another, I knocked both of them away from me. My amplified strength flung Wolverine to the ground, where he lay still. Nightcrawler instinctively tried to land on his feet, but the force of the punch had knocked off his co-ordination, and he landed awkwardly on his ankle, screaming in pain as it twisted. 

_Too easy_, the demon exulted.

I looked up to see what else was going on. Scarab had Rogue in his grasp, and was grappling with her, trying to knock her out. Snapping her neck would have been a simple matter, but we didn't kill our own kind. Rogue's hand was reaching for his face, trying to drain him, to weaken him, and he fought to hold her off. Gemini's twin had just been struck by an optic ray, but she herself twisted out of the way and kicked Cyclops in the side of the head, trying to knock off his visor. This one seemed more securely attached, and stayed in place. Off balance, he fired another ray in her direction, but she avoided it and pushed him to the ground. Recyclo had just stabbed a knife into Shock's arm, preventing her from lifting it to use her power. She gave a scream of pain, and clutched at her wounded limb, trying to stem the flow of blood. Recyclo formed another blade and went for her other arm.

Crusader lifted one hand. Recyclo and Gemini froze. Held in place by her telekinetic power, neither of them could move a muscle. Scarab had succeeded in subduing Rogue, and as he threw her unconscious figure to the ground, Crusader's power extended to hold him motionless also. I hurried over at once. She had her back to me, and as I approached I pulled back my fist to knock her senseless. It occurred to me a second too late that Crusader would sense my presence. Even as I realised, I was already committed to my attack, and I threw the punch anyway. She spun, her hand moving up to deflect my attack, her other hand spread to push me away with a telekinetic blast. I hit the ground hard. My attack had done nothing to her – but at least she had been forced to release my friends from her power.

"Gary!" she cried.

Before she had time to say anything more, a blade from Recyclo came skimming through the air towards the back of her neck. Without turning, Crusader casually lifted her fingers, and the blade stopped in mid-air, falling to the ground. It wasn't much of a distraction, but it was all I needed. I launched myself at Crusader, hoping to overwhelm her with sheer physical strength. She didn't have enough time to concentrate on using her power to push me away; instead she jumped in the air, using her mind to lift herself up and away from the ground, avoiding me completely. She dropped to the ground, and faced me. I clenched my fists furiously, my berserk rage still thundering in my veins, and I threw a savage right-fisted punch that even Vertigo would have struggled to avoid. Crusader spun, bringing her foot up to block my fist, then kicked me in the chest, knocking me on to my back.

"Gary, stop! I don't want to fight you!"

The demon of my fury was in control now, and I rose to attack her once more. This time I took a deep breath and a searing white-hot flame leapt from my mouth towards her face. She raised both of her hands, and used her power to protect herself, the flames burning up in the air before they could reach her. I didn't give her a moment's respite, following it up with another huge punch. Crusader dodged to the side, and hit me in the side of the head with a spinning kick. I felt no pain, but I was knocked off balance and I fell on to the ground, my breath knocked out of me.

Crusader stood over me, and she was about to open her mouth and say something when a shape moved in the corner of my eye, and Gemini was on her. Both twins attacked my sister with a speed and agility I would never have been capable of, and with the perfect synchronisation that came from sharing the one mind. But it wasn't enough. Crusader was so fast it was frightening, as she ducked, turned, spun and jumped, neither twin able to land a single blow on her body. As I struggled to my feet, I saw Crusader twisting her body in a seemingly impossible mid-air manoeuvre that knocked both Gemini twins away in opposite directions.

A shadow passed overhead and I looked up. Another black jet was flying above the scene, preparing to lower itself to street level. What was this? The X-Men were all here already – who was this arriving? Then I realised – it was our jet. Pyro had signalled it, and in the heat of the battle I had clean forgotten about it. 

"Pyro!" I exclaimed, looking around for our leader.

He was further down the street, doing battle with Storm. Was there some history between the two of them? I didn't know. Presumably they had known each other when Pyro had been a teenager. Atlas was there too, his power shaking the earth around Storm to keep her off balance, while Pyro barraged her with balls of fire.

"_Pyro_!" I yelled. "The jet!"

Whether he heard me or whether it was just coincidence that he happened to look round at that moment, I didn't know, but Pyro saw the descending aircraft and he called to the rest of us, "Everyone converge on the jet! We're getting out of here!"

It was heading straight for him, straight for the homing device in his coat pocket to be precise. I quickly looked around to see how the others were doing. Gemini was still lying on the ground from Crusader's attack. Mole was hurrying towards the jet, as were Cassandra and the little girl. Wolverine was still unconscious where I had left him, and Nightcrawler was moving about painfully on his injured leg. Shapeshifter and Shock were off to one side, where he had improvised a bandage and was tying it around her wounded arm. Rogue was still out cold, and Scarab lay unmoving beside her. I wasn't sure what had happened to him, but Iceman was nearby, checking that Rogue was OK, and I assumed he was responsible. Cyclops was hurrying to help Storm, while Vertigo and Recyclo were heading for Crusader.

"Guys! Over here!" I yelled, pointing to the jet.

It touched down on the road surface next to Pyro; Cassandra and the tiny mutant were the first on board. Mole hurried after them, and I ran over to the unconscious Gemini.

"Get Scarab!" I called to Vertigo.

Slipping one hand around Gemini's shoulders, the other under her legs, I lifted her off the ground, and began hurrying towards the jet. 

"Get on board!" Pyro was saying to Atlas. "I'll hold them off until you're all in!"

"Take Gemini," I said to Atlas. "I'll help the others."

His eyes widened slightly, perhaps with excitement at the thought of carrying the body of the girl he desired, but I didn't pay him any more attention, turning back to see if anybody else needed help. It seemed not. Vertigo, Scarab over his shoulder, was running our way, with Recyclo close behind, covering them from any attack. I stepped aside and they hurried into the jet's interior. The rest of the X-Men were closing in on our position, and they would be upon us in seconds.

"All right, Gladiator, get in!" Pyro ordered. "I'll be right behind you! Tell Vertigo to take off!"

I was running up the landing ramp when it happened. From the heavens came a bolt of lightning, arcing down through the sky to hit Pyro. He screamed as the gigantic electric shock coursed through his body, hurling him to the ground.

"Pyro!" I yelled.

Storm lowered her hands and her eyes returned to normal. Our leader's body lay on the ground in front of her, unmoving. I turned and began to run back down the ramp towards him, but the ramp was already rising, the jet lifting into the air and away from him.

"What are you doing?" I yelled up to the cockpit. "Pyro's still down there!"

"I'm not doing anything; it's the auto-pilot!" Vertigo yelled back.

What? That didn't make any sense! Or did it? As the ramp retracted into its upward position, cutting off my last view of Pyro on the ground, I could have sworn I saw his hand moving from the pocket inside his coat. His remote control. Had he used it to control the auto-pilot and make the jet take off? Why would he do that? Why would he allow himself to be left behind? Obviously he wanted us to get away, but why wasn't he coming too? Was he so badly injured that he felt he couldn't make it? I didn't know.

I hurried up to the cockpit to see what was going on. Vertigo had his hands on the controls as the auto-pilot relinquished the jet to him, and Recyclo was busy ripping a section of wiring out of a panel in the wall.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Destroying the receiver for Pyro's remote signal. Otherwise the X-Men will be able to use it."

"Where are we going? We can't leave Pyro behind!"

Vertigo shook his head, "If that's what he wants, then that's what we do. He must have been overriding the auto-pilot with his remote box. If he wants us to get to safety and leave him behind, then we have to obey his orders."

"But we can't let the X-Men take him! They'll kill him!"               

"You think we don't know that?" snapped Vertigo. "He did what he had to do to. If he felt he had to sacrifice himself for us – then that's what he's done."

Recyclo looked over and seemed about to speak, when Cassandra and Atlas joined us in the cockpit.

"Are we going back to the island?" said Atlas.

"Where's Pyro?" Cassie demanded.

I was about to reply, when something shook the jet, throwing each of us to the floor. Only Recyclo and Vertigo managed to stay in position.

"What the hell was that?!"

Vertigo's hands moved over the controls, "Shit. This is bad."

He glanced down out of one of the side view-ports, and swore again. The jet bucked once more, but we were ready this time and managed to stay upright. Our ascent was halted, and the aircraft began to sink from the sky, moving slowly but surely down towards the ground, as if it was being pulled down by some enormous hand. What the hell was causing this? I looked out of the view-port. Crusader stood on the ground below us, with both hands outstretched – she was using her power to pull the jet back down!

"Damn it!" I snapped.

"What do we do?" Cassandra asked.

Nobody said anything. Pyro was the one who always knew what to do, who always had the solution to the problem, who always made the right decisions to keep us safe, but he wasn't here right now. We had to do something, we had to think of something to combat my sister's power, before she had us back down on the ground, where there would be no escape, and Pyro's sacrifice would have been for nothing.

"Atlas!" said Vertigo suddenly. "Use your power to distract her! If we can break out of her power, we should be able to get far enough away before she can do it again."

Atlas nodded nervously, and put out his hand towards the ground below. For a moment nothing happened, and the jet continued to descend, then a huge section of the road surface was ripped up, and he flung it through the air towards Crusader. She turned, and reacted just in time to deflect it away from her. Her telepathic lock on the jet was broken, and we rose once more into the sky. Vertigo hit the controls for full power, and we accelerated away from the scene, leaving Crusader, the rest of the X-Men, and Pyro, behind.

A/N: I'm still looking for pictures for my website. Anybody who is interested, please get in touch with me, maybe send some samples. Thanks.

A/N 2: If you enjoy my work, please review my story at fictionpress.com. You'll find the link in my profile. 


	11. The Watcher

Chapter Eleven:

"So what do we do?" I asked.

Neither Vertigo or Recyclo said anything. They were the oldest among us, and the rest of us were looking to them to take over while Pyro was not around, but neither of them seemed particularly keen to step forward and take command. Recyclo rarely spoke at the best of times, and Vertigo wasn't known for his commitment to making sure things got done. Eventually he shrugged, "I don't know…I suppose we have two options. Either we go on without Pyro, or we try and get him back somehow. Getting to him wouldn't be easy – and there's no guarantee that the X-Men haven't just killed him – but still, I think we're much weaker without him." 

"Yeah, I think we should try to rescue him," I agreed.

Vertigo looked over, "Recyclo?"

Recyclo's expression didn't change as he said, "I think we could manage without him. Going to the X-Men's base would be risky."

"But we owe to him to at least _try_," I argued. "I mean, after everything he's done for us – "

"You're looking at it from a sentimental point of view," said Recyclo. "I'm only thinking of the practicalities."

I retorted angrily, "Pyro would do the same for any of us if we – "

Sounds from behind interrupted me, and Gemini ran into the cockpit; presumably she had just woken up.

"Where's Pyro?" she demanded.

"He isn't with us. He stayed behind," said Vertigo.

"_What_?! What are you talking about?!"

"He stayed behind. He was hurt and he didn't have time to get on board."

"You left without him?!" she gasped.

Vertigo sighed, "I didn't have any choice. He – "

"You _bastard_!" Gemini spat. "If he was hurt we should have helped him! How _dare_ you take us away without going back for him!"

Her anger overflowed and she lashed out at Vertigo. His hand moved impossibly fast to catch hers before she could hit him, and he said, "Gemini, listen to me. There was nothing I could do. Pyro was using his remote control to activate the jet's auto-pilot. He wanted us to get away as quickly as possible, without waiting for him. It wasn't my decision – it was his."

"But they'll kill him!" she sobbed. "The X-Men hate mutants! They'll kill him! We've got to go back!"

"Gemini – we can't."

"Vertigo, please! We _can_'t leave him! Take us back – we'll just have to fight them again!"

Vertigo shook his head, "Gem – you've been asleep for nearly an hour. We're nowhere near Edinburgh any more. In fact, we're almost home. We don't know where Pyro is, so there's no point in going back."

"But we've got to help him!" Gemini cried. "He means everything to me! He's given me everything I have! We've _got_ to help him!"

"Agreed. But there's no point running straight in and trying to break him out. We've got to think it through."

"Why can't we just go to the X-Men's school, fight them, and then get him out?"

Vertigo sighed, "Because Gladiator's sister would destroy us. You saw how fast she can move. With Pyro we'd have a fair to decent chance of standing up to them – without him we haven't got a hope."

"So what _are_ we gonna do?"

"I don't know – I really don't know. We'll have to think of something. For now I just want to get back to base and talk things over, so we know exactly where we stand."

"But we will go and help Pyro? You promise?"

"Of course."

I suspected that Gemini would have gone to try and rescue him regardless of what the rest of us said, even if she had to go alone. It seemed that wasn't going to be the case; I felt sure that the rest of the Brotherhood would be just as anxious to help one of our own. Even the lazy, uncaring Vertigo wanted to go after Pyro. Recyclo didn't seem so keen, but – well, he simply had no notion of loyalty, or gratitude, or friendship. It was as if he was incapable of thinking in anything other than the most cold, mathematical way possible. He was like a machine…on the surface at least. What was he really like inside? Was he just as rigid and emotionless and – well, metallic was the word that came to mind. Strange…it was a bizarre way to describe a person, but that was the word I would have used to describe Recyclo: cold, unbending, lifeless…metallic. Even his hair, which must have once been blond, had begun to grey. It wasn't the grey that a person's hair might turn naturally with age…it was a dull, metallic grey that must have been triggered by his mutation.

"We're coming in to land," said Vertigo, breaking into my thoughts, his hands moving to the controls as he switched off the auto-pilot.

I sat back in the seat at the rear of the cockpit, and closed my eyes, hoping against hope that we could find some way of rescuing our leader without risking things becoming even worse.

Once we had touched down, and were back inside the sanctuary, we prepared to gather together in the briefing room. The little mutant was still asleep, so Cassandra and I took her to our room, and tucked her into Cassie's bed. We stood there together for a few moments, looking down at the child's sleeping form, and Cassie said hesitantly, "You know, I just had the weirdest feeling. Putting her to bed like that, and just standing here…for a second it was almost as if she was our daughter, and we were her mum and dad."

I didn't know what to say to that, "Well – I suppose we are, in a way. I mean, we're probably the closest thing she's got to a mum and dad right now."

"Yeah, but I just felt kind of…I dunno what the right word is…broody, perhaps? I just felt, just for a second, how it might feel to have my own child, to be able to look after her and protect her and tuck her into bed and watch over her when she's asleep."

"You – you want to have children?" I asked.

She looked up at me, "Yeah…I would. Someday, I mean. Like, when I get married."

"You want to get married?"

Cassie frowned, "You mean married to you? Or just married to someone?"

"To me."

A small, slightly embarrassed smile crossed her face, "Gladiator – is that a proposal?"

"Well…yeah…I guess."

Her eyes widened, and she licked her lips nervously, "Well, I love you, so……I suppose the answer is yes. But we can't get married until we're sixteen."

"Why not?"

"Well, it's the law, isn't it?"

I shrugged, "It's the humans' law. When they're gone we can follow our own rules. I think as long as you love somebody, you should be able to get married at any age."

"Then let's get married."

I took her in my arms and kissed her, holding her close to me, feeling the warmth and vitality of the girl who was my love. I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with her. Even though there was a huge gap in my heart where Marina had been, a gap that would never be filled or healed, I still loved Cassandra with heart and soul, and would love, honour and protect her for the rest of our days. I kissed her again.

We were interrupted as the door was pushed open, and Gemini's voice came, impatient and sarcastic, "Oh, why I am not surprised? Can't you two keep your hands off each other for five seconds? We're in the briefing room waiting for you."

She left the room, and with a last glance at the sleeping child in Cassie's bed, we went after her. When we got to the briefing room, the others were already there and, as Gemini had said, were clearly waiting for us. Vertigo was standing – well, leaning against the wall – at the front of the room, and as we sat down he said, "OK. We all know what the situation is. We've lost Pyro and we don't know his condition. All we know is that the X-Men must have captured him. What they did with him, we can only guess. The plan seems to be that we go to the X-Men's school and try to get him out. We haven't worked out the details of how we're going to do it, but hopefully somebody will think of something. First of all though – look, I'm not our leader and I'm not trying to be. I can't order any of you to do anything. If anyone doesn't want to be part of a rescue attempt, I can't force you to be."

Gemini looked around the room angrily as if she was daring anybody not to want to rescue Pyro. Cassandra said, "I think somebody _should_ be made leader while – I mean, until Pyro's back. I don't think this kind of thing really works in a democratic way. Someone needs to take charge, temporarily."

"Well, don't look at me," said Vertigo.

"Who's the oldest?" asked Scarab.

"I am," said Recyclo.

Gemini shook her head, "No thanks. I'd rather have a leader who actually cares whether I live or die."

"You think I don't care?"

"Well, you don't, do you?"

He said nothing. Vertigo sighed heavily, "All right, shut up, both of you. If nobody else wants to do it, then I guess I'll take command for now, if I really, _really_, have to."

"Too much like hard work, is it?" I said sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up," he said. "All right, as new leader, my first decision is – "

Mole's head jerked up, "Wait a minute! Did you hear something?"

"What?"

"Sshh! I heard something!"

We fell silent. For a few moments there was no noise, and I was about to tell Mole to get his ears cleaned out – then we all heard the sound.

"It's somebody moving about," whispered Gemini.

"Maybe it's that little girl," said Scarab.

Cassandra shook her head, "No – she was fast asleep when we left her a minute ago."

"Well, who else could it be?" Atlas said nervously. "I mean, nobody else is on the island, right?"

Nobody replied. He pressed, "_Right_?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Cassie. "It must be the girl. She must be looking for us. I'll put her back to bed."

I still wasn't convinced that it was the little mutant making the noise. It had definitely been the sound of a person, but it hadn't been the light footsteps of a small girl. Or had it? Was my mind playing tricks on me? Could I have imagined the sound? No, of course not – we'd all heard it. It was probably completely harmless. But still…

"I'll go with you," I said.

No-one objected, and the two of us got up to leave the room.

"It sounded as if she was in the kitchen," said Cassie.

We turned left and headed down the corridor that led to the kitchen/living room area. As we went, we heard the sound again – it was definitely somebody moving around, and again it sounded far too loud to be the little girl. But as Atlas had said, who else could it be? Nobody else could be on the island. Or could they? Could some human have got lost and wandered in here? Nah – the island was miles from the mainland.

"Hi!" Cassandra called as we entered the kitchen, then whispered to me. "Gosh, we don't even know her name."

"Where are you, sweetie?" I asked.

There was no response, but in the darkness we could see a figure moving across the living room towards us. It looked a lot taller than a child – or was that my imagination again?

"It's not her," I whispered.

Cassie nodded, and instinctively we drew slightly closer together. Who was this person? How had they found their way here? Were they about to attack?

"Who are you?" I asked.

The figure stepped forward, into the light from the corridor outside.

"Pyro!" I gasped. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Pyro said nothing as he approached us, his usual confident smirk in place. Cassandra asked, "Are you all right? How did you escape from the X-Men?"

He stopped, and looked at me curiously.

"Pyro?"

As I spoke, a very strange thing happened. Pyro's entire body began to change, his appearance warping, as his face and his clothes morphed into those of another. I stared with shock as the transformation was completed, and where Pyro had stood a minute ago, there was now a tall, slender, blue-skinned, red-haired woman who…didn't appear to have any clothes on. I had never seen her before – I could only assume she was a mutant – but who was she, and what was she doing here? I assumed a defensive posture, uncertain whether or not she was an enemy. Cassandra, however, clearly recognised this person, as she relaxed and her body sagged with relief.

"Mystique!" she exclaimed. "I thought you were dead!"

"No, I'm not dead," the blue woman replied. "The humans haven't killed me yet."

"I don't understand. Where have you been? Pyro said you were dead!"

"Yes. He's the reason I'm here."

Cassie frowned, "I don't understand."

"You will. Take me to the others and I'll explain."

"OK. This way."

But the woman named Mystique did not move right away. She looked at me, suspicion crossing her face, "You remind me of somebody…your face…your voice…"

"He's a Rosiçky," said Cassie.

"I was," I corrected.

Mystique's eyes narrowed, and she said to Cassandra, "Don't you know the Rosiçky family are with the X-Men?"

"This one isn't."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. He had a…friend – a girl – and she was shot by the humans."

I knew Cassandra wasn't comfortable with talking about Marina. I'd only ever described Marina as 'a friend', but Cassandra wasn't stupid and she had obviously worked out, or at least guessed, that Marina had been special to me in some way. I'd never told her that Marina and I had been in love. There was no need…Marina was dead and I would never see her again…it wasn't as if I was ever going to have to choose between her and Cassandra.

I followed Cassandra and the blue woman, Mystique, as we went back to the briefing room. The others looked round as we entered, and – apart from Recyclo – their expressions changed to either recognition or confusion. Clearly some of them knew who Mystique was, but some didn't. Gemini was obviously one of the ones who did, as she echoed Cassandra's words from earlier, "Mystique! I thought you were dead!"

I could see a look of suspicion crossing Atlas' face; he caught my eye and mouthed, _Who's she_? I shrugged. I didn't know either.

"All right, everyone, listen up," said Gemini. "For those of you who've never met her, this is Mystique, one of the original members of the Brotherhood. She – uh – I guess she disappeared a few years ago after Magneto died. I don't get it, Mystique – Pyro told us you were dead."

"I know. That's what I wanted you to think."

"But why?"

Mystique sighed, "It's – hard to explain. Actually, no, it's easy to explain, but it's hard for me to say. It's a very personal matter and I don't want to tell it to – well, sorry, but you are children."

"Give us the abridged version, then," said Vertigo.

"OK. As you know, Magneto was the original founder of the Brotherhood. You didn't all know him, but I'm sure you do know that it was his vision which drove us to fight for what we believed in. He wasn't just our leader, he was more than that, he was…I can't put it into words. It was almost as if he _was _the Brotherhood. I mean there was Toad and Sabretooth and me, and then Pyro, and then some of you came along, but really Magneto was everything. He was the heart and soul of everything we did and everything we believed. When he died, the Brotherhood died with him."

"No it didn't," said Mole. "We're here right now."

"As far as I'm concerned, it did," Mystique replied. "This isn't the Brotherhood. This is Pyro trying to be what Magneto was. When Magneto died I didn't just lose a friend and a leader – I lost my will to keep on fighting. I don't know if I can explain it in words. Magneto was – he had a strength. Sometimes things would get so bad that there didn't seem to be any point in going on, but as long as Magneto believed in what we were doing, and we believed in him, then it _was_ worth going on. When he died, I lost that. I knew I could never hope to become what he was. I knew I could never lead the Brotherhood the way he had – so I left, and Pyro took over."

"So what have you been doing since he – since then?" asked Gemini.

"It doesn't matter. What does matter is that I never entirely severed my links to Pyro. I've been watching him over the years, and you too, watching and waiting, just in case – well, just in case I was wrong and he _could_ become as great as Magneto was."

"I think he is," Gemini said.

"Yes, well – you were only a little girl when you knew Magneto. I had told myself that I wasn't going to have any further part in the struggle against the humans, that my fight was gone, but still I kept watching. I followed you to Edinburgh earlier today, and I saw what happened. I decided that I had to do something. I know in my heart that Pyro isn't going to fulfil my dreams – but I want him to at least have the chance."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to help you rescue him."

"You can help us defeat the X-Men?" asked Recyclo.

"No. What I will do is stage a distraction, give the X-Men a disaster, a crisis they can't ignore. While they rush to stop the disaster, you will go to their base and rescue Pyro."

I shook my head, "What if they don't all take the bait? What if some of them stay behind? They must know that we'll try to rescue Pyro – they'll leave somebody behind to guard against us."

Mystique gave the first smile I had seen on her face, "Not if they think you're somewhere else. You forget about my mutation."

Gemini's eyes widened, "Of course."

"What if they see through the trick?" asked Mole.

"They won't," said Mystique. "As far as they know, I'm dead, remember? They'll think you're launching an attack on the humans because you're angry at losing Pyro. I'll be long gone by the time they reach the scene, and by the time they get back to their school, you and Pyro should be long gone too."

I nodded. Vertigo grinned, "Let's do it."


	12. Lair of the Demons

Chapter Twelve

My thoughts were uncertain as our rescue mission got underway. I had never expected to return to the X-Men's mansion. That was a part of my past, a relic from the life I had once led, and it had never occurred to me that I might go back there one day. I had never given any thought to the implications, but that was where my mind found itself now. How would it feel to go back there, to walk the grounds, and the corridors of the school – and the underground base? That would be where they were holding Pyro. The last time I had been down there, I had been running away from the X-Men. They had tried to restrain me, tried to stop me from rescuing mutants who were in danger, and I had seen them for what they really were. I had run and never come back.

Until now. At least none of the X-Men would be there, assuming Mystique's plan worked. She had left us an hour ago in her own transport – a small, single-seater aircraft – and we were only waiting for news that her 'distraction' had begun, before we set off. I sat alone on a small grassy verge outside the sanctuary, not far from the helicopter pad where the jet now sat, while the rest were getting ready. Cassandra was in our room, watching over the tiny mutant. She had been reluctant to leave the little girl on her own, but we weren't expecting to be gone too long, and the child was still asleep, showing no signs of waking up any time soon. The poor little thing had had a terrifying ordeal and a very tiring day, and it was no surprise that she was sleeping now.

I turned at the sound of footsteps behind me, and watched as Vertigo and Mole manhandled a crate up the landing ramp into the jet. I could guess what was in the crate. Explosives. Mole had insisted that we might need them to break Pyro out, or to cause a further distraction. Nobody had argued. There was a strong temptation to use them to destroy the X-Men's base, but we couldn't risk hurting the innocent mutant children at the school. But why couldn't we take the children back to the island with us? We could look after them and give them a far better future than the mutant-hating X-Men ever could. I had mentioned this to Vertigo, but he'd told me to ask Pyro about it when he got back.

There was something that was bothering me. It was the way that the X-Men – and Mystique – had spoken about Pyro. They'd talked about him almost as if he were still a child, as if he were just a kid trying to live up to his hero. Yet to us, he was a leader and our elder. I was unsure of my own feelings towards him. Obviously I respected him, but at the same time I wasn't as fond of him as, say, Gemini, to whom he was almost a father. Her devotion to him was certainly like that of a very proud daughter. I didn't think of Pyro as a father, or any kind of relative really. It was hard to describe. He was too senior and too aloof to be a friend, but at the same time he was too informal and too sarcastic for me to really think of him as a parent or teacher. The thing I respected most about him was probably the way he – it was hard to put into words – perhaps it was the way he always seemed to know exactly what to do. If we had a problem, or if we were in danger, we could turn to Pyro and he would have the solution. 

Was that what we were doing now? We needed him – he was the one who always had the answers – and we were pulling him out so he could tell us what to do. If Pyro was around, we didn't have to think, we didn't have to try and work out what we should do next…we simply let him make the decisions, and then obeyed whatever orders he gave us. We didn't argue, we didn't question – Pyro was the leader, he always knew what to do, and we simply had to do it. He was the heart and soul of everything we did – he _was_ the Brotherhood – the same words Mystique had used suddenly passed through my mind. Was it the same? Was he the visionary who would lead us to greatness? Was he the pioneer for a human-free world where mutants could live in peace and safety? Or was he, as Mystique seemed to think, merely a kid who was trying to live up to Magneto? I didn't know. I'd never known Magneto. I couldn't say. Maybe it _was_ different – that didn't necessarily mean it was worse…

"Gladiator?"

My thoughts interrupted, I turned. Vertigo jerked his thumb towards the jet, "Let's go."

As I got up, I could see the rest were hurrying on board. The two of us ran to join them. We were the last on board, and I hit the switch to close the ramp as Vertigo sat in front of the controls.

"We just got word from Mystique," he said. "She's ready to move. That means we get ready to leave. Recyclo, put it on screen."

Recyclo pressed a switch, and a small video screen at the front of the cockpit flickered into life.

"I'll cycle through the frequencies until I find a station covering the event. Give me a moment," he said.

Vertigo hit the controls in front of him, and the jet lifted off from the ground, the main engines kicking in, and we were on our way. My mind was still clouded with uncertainty. After we got Pyro back, what were we going to do then? Would he have some idea of how to proceed? It was clear that we now had to avoid meeting the X-Men at all costs. With my sister Crusader on their side, they seemed invincible. I had faced her for the first time earlier in the day, and she had definitely come out on top. I'd had no idea she could move so fast. She had obviously learned martial arts and self-defence techniques from her teachers, but the sheer speed of her moves and reactions was terrifying. It was also inexplicable – none of her mutations granted her extra speed or agility. She shouldn't have been able to move that fast. I didn't understand it at all. I wasn't the only one who was worried about it; Gemini had asked Mystique the same question. I had overheard Mystique's answer: apparently any mutant with sufficient telepathic power could actually warp or suspend a 'bubble' of time around them. Was that what Crusader had done? Was that why she could move so fast? Could she actually slow down time around herself, to give herself more time to think and react? It would certainly explain her incredible fighting ability. Mystique said she'd never heard of anyone other than Xavier who was capable of doing it. Xavier…he was the old guy who had been leader of the X-Men…they'd called him 'the Professor'. He was dead now, like Magneto. Had he been a telepath? Did that explain why the X-Men followed their crazy delusions the way they did? Had he used his power to implant the delusions in their minds and make them believe in them? But why would any mutant hate his own kind so much? Pyro had never fully explained it to us.

It took Recyclo only a matter of minutes to connect to a TV news broadcast that was showing Mystique's distraction. We moved towards the cockpit to watch as the scene unfolded on the small screen. There was no sound, but clearly a news reporter and cameraman were standing as close as they dared to the action. A single figure could be seen, fighting against a group of humans, fighting with the quickest, deadliest display of martial arts I had ever seen. My breath caught in my throat as I saw just how _fast_ Mystique could move. The camera zoomed in to show that the fighting figure was in fact Vertigo – or so the X-Men were meant to believe. If they were unaware that Mystique was still alive, then they would not suspect the truth. The group of humans had been no match for her, and the camera followed her as she – in Vertigo's form – moved off to find another target. She disappeared momentarily from view, and then reappeared – as Gemini.

Gemini gave a gasp as she saw herself – or what appeared to be herself – on screen, hurrying after a fleeing human, bringing it down with a scything kick to the back of the head.

"I don't believe it…" she gasped. "Even _I_ would think that was me!"

Mystique was obviously planning this carefully, as she disappeared once again, only to reappear as Mole.

"Bloody hell – that's _me_," said Mole in amazement.

She didn't remain that way for long, and as we watched, Scarab, myself and Recyclo appeared in quick succession. Mystique killed two more humans, then Atlas and Cassandra made supposed appearances at the scene.

"That's all of us," I said. "If the X-Men fall for it, they'll have to go out there in full force in order to stop 'us'."

Mystique changed back into Vertigo's form, and seemed content to remain that way for the time being.

"Seems she likes being me," grinned Vertigo.

Gemini shook her head, "I bet she doesn't. You just happen to be the easiest one for her to fake. The rest of us have powers that Mystique can't imitate. Her mutation doesn't work that way. But she can pretend to be you easily enough – all she has to do is jump about a bit and make smart remarks."

"Oh, you're hurting me. Stop it. I thought you loved me, Gemini," he said sarcastically.

Gemini flushed slightly but said nothing. Vertigo returned his attention to his flying, and glanced at the radar, "OK, we'll be there soon. The X-Men should already be on their way, but I don't want to take any chances. I'll take a tiny detour just to make sure we don't wander too close and into their radar scope."

"It better be tiny," said Mole. "If we don't have enough to get Pyro and get out, we'll be in a whole lot of trouble."

"Hey – it's me."

We went on in silence until we reached our destination, and in the darkness below I could make out the estate. I'd only seen it once before from the air, and it was just as impressive a second time.

"It's beautiful," came a voice from somewhere behind me – Atlas.

"The mansion?"

"What? No – the estate. The trees, the flowers and the grasses…it's beautiful. Don't you think so?"

"Whatever, nature boy," Gemini said mockingly.

Atlas looked away unhappily, and I returned my attention to watching out of the view-port.

"Here," said Recyclo. "Touch down here. It's close to the mansion but far enough away that we won't be spotted."

"Gotcha."

The jet touched down, Vertigo killed the engine, and we disembarked. As I came down the landing ramp, Atlas was breathing in deeply, a contented smile crossing his face.

"Doesn't it smell wonderful?" he enthused.

"I can't smell anything," I said.

"The scent of the trees – the fresh air – don't you smell it?"

"Nope."

Atlas shrugged, then said, "I love being here. This sort of place, I mean. Just think, the whole world must have been like this once; nothing but natural beauty as far as the eye could see. Until the _humans_ came along and destroyed and polluted it," he finished angrily.

Vertigo waved him to silence.

"All right, just before we go," our new leader said. "What with the trouble and the worries we've had over losing Pyro, some of you may have forgotten one very important fact. There's still a traitor among us. For all I know, it could be any of you. For all you know, it could be me. So let's all watch each other's backs and fronts and every other part while we're here in the den of the enemy, OK? This is just the opportunity our spy needs to hand us over to the X-Men. We'll split up into two groups of four. That way the spy will be outnumbered if he or she tries anything. Mole, Scarab, Atlas, Cassandra – you guys stay outside the mansion and keep watch, OK? If the X-Men get back unexpectedly early, you'll need to hold them off while we make a break to join you. The rest of us will go inside and try to find Pyro. Any questions?"

There were none.

"No? Good. I'm starting to get the hang of this leader thing, huh? OK, let's go."

Leaving the jet, we hurried through the night towards the mansion building. Glancing back, I couldn't even see the aircraft in the darkness. Well, it _was_ jet black, aptly enough, and should hopefully remain undetected by anybody until it was time to leave. Not that there was anybody here we should worry about. Just a few kids, and they would be asleep. We reached the front doors of the mansion, and Vertigo cautiously edged them open. There was silence within, and he stepped inside.

"See you soon," I whispered to Cassandra, giving her a little kiss on her lips.

"Good luck," she whispered back.

Gemini and I hurried forward to follow Vertigo and Recyclo, who were already inside the building. When we got in, Vertigo turned to me and said, "OK, you know this place best. Where should we start looking?"

"Downstairs. In their secret headquarters. The elevator's this way."

I was surprised how well I remembered the layout of the mansion, as I led the other three in the direction of the lift. The interior of the building was dark and silent – with the X-Men gone, there should be nobody up and about. Vertigo's eyes carefully scanned every doorway or staircase we passed, in case any threat should appear from there. Recyclo glanced without interest into a few of the rooms we went past. Gemini, clearly nervous at the thought of intruding into the lair of the demons, was walking close to me; whether she was just seeking protection, or whether she wanted to be near me in particular, I didn't know. Wait a minute – what was that?

"Sshh – I heard something," I hissed, putting out a hand to stop Vertigo.

He listened, "I hear it."

The sound of footsteps was coming towards us, from around the corner to our left. We couldn't see who was there, and I looked around for somewhere we might hide. Before we could make any move, a figure appeared in the darkness from around the corner, and a blazing light filled the passageway.

"Who's there?" a voice demanded.

Raising a hand and screwing up my eyes against the light, I could just about make out the person who stood before us. I recognised him…it was one of the children who lived here…he had been my friend once. What was his name? Dominic. What about his mutant name? Oh yeah – Helios.

"Gary?" came his surprised voice.

Helios had one hand out, his left, and it was this hand that shone the blinding light into our eyes. As he realised it was me, he instinctively lowered his hand, and Vertigo sprang. He twisted, kicked Helios to the ground, and held him there, his knee in Helios' chest, his hand covering the other mutant's mouth. Helios struggled, but he hadn't the strength to dislodge Vertigo, and he looked up at me, his voice muffled into unintelligibility by the hand over his mouth.

"Let him talk," I said.

"He'll yell for help; he'll give us away!" Gemini protested.

I ignored her, "Vertigo, let him talk."

Vertigo shrugged and pulled his hand away. Helios cried, "Gary, what the _hell_ is going on? Who are these people?"

"These people are my friends, and the last hope of mutantkind," I said. "Where's Pyro?"

"Huh?"

"You know who I'm talking about!"

He shook his head, "Honest, I don't know what you mean!"

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. He sounded as if he was telling the truth – but if Pyro had been brought here, surely Helios would have seen something? Or at least heard it from one of the other kids who had? Unless – what if the X-Men hadn't brought Pyro here at all? What if they had just killed him on the spot and left his body where he had fallen? It wouldn't have surprised me – it would have fitted in with everything Pyro had told us about them. But no…it didn't seem probable. It was more likely that they would have brought him here for interrogation, to try and find out where the rest of us were based. I had been worried by the possibility of Pyro being 'interrogated' by the telepathic Crusader, but Gemini and Mystique had both told me not to worry; Magneto had taught Pyro everything he knew about blocking telepathic intrusions. And Magneto had known a _lot_ about it, apparently.

"I still think we should try downstairs," I said to Vertigo. "Hey, you awake?"

Vertigo was not listening. He looked at Helios, then up at Recyclo. I followed his gaze, wondering what he was looking at. Helios looked up as Recyclo looked down, and their eyes met. I looked at both of them again, comprehension beginning to dawn. No. It couldn't be. Or could it? How could I have failed to realise up until now? But then, I had never seen them together…

"Hello, brother," said Recyclo.


	13. The Third Force

Chapter Thirteen:

I stared at the pair of them. How could this be? How could I have never noticed? How could they have been separated at birth and only met now in the most unlikely of circumstances? I'd known that Helios had been orphaned and adopted, but I'd never known anything about his real family. I'd known that Recyclo had been orphaned and separated from his twin brother. But somehow I had failed to make the connection between the two things. I was probably the only person who knew both of them on a personal level, and yet it had never occurred to me. How could I have been so blind?

For a moment both of them were too shocked to respond, then Helios found his voice, "I – I don't understand – how can you – they told me you were dead!"

"Who? The X-Men?" said Gemini angrily.

"No – my foster parents. They said I had a brother, but – but they said that he – you – were dead. I don't understand, I – "

He tailed off, still too shocked to finish the sentence properly. Recyclo remained calm and replied, "I was taken when they discovered I was a mutant."

Gemini looked at him, "Taken where? By who?"

Recyclo made no response. He turned to Vertigo and said, "Leave me with him. You go on."

After a moment's hesitation, Vertigo nodded, "OK. Glad, Gem, let's go."

He stood, releasing Helios, who got to his feet. For a moment it seemed as if Helios might try to make a run for it, but clearly he wanted to stay and talk to Recyclo. Gemini and I hurried after Vertigo in the direction of the elevator. I glanced backwards as we went, as Helios and Recyclo, twin brothers, continued to stare at each other, neither of them knowing what to say or how to say it. Just how did a person respond to the twin they had never met? What would I have done if it had been me? 

In a way it was similar to the problem I found myself facing. My sister and I found ourselves on either side of the human-mutant conflict – it wasn't easy for me, and it couldn't be any easier for her. We had never been particularly close before, but we had always loved each other. Now I didn't know what my feelings for Crusader were. I loved her, because she was my sister. But I hated her, because she was part of an organisation who put human lives before mutant ones. Both of us were committed to what we believed in, and both of us would fight for our beliefs. Crusader would fight to protect the humans, and I would fight to preserve my own kind. If it came down to it, we would have to fight each other. If only there was some way I could talk to her, some way I could let her know that she was on the wrong side…why couldn't she see that what she was doing was wrong? Why couldn't she understand that we had to protect ourselves from the humans? She had seen Marina die as I had – she had loved Marina almost as much as I had – why couldn't Crusader see what Marina's death meant, as I had? Didn't she feel anything, any remorse or pain or sorrow; didn't my love's death mean anything to her?

"Is this it?" came Gemini's voice, interrupting my thoughts.

We had reached the elevator. I hit the button to call it, and we waited for it to reach the ground level. Vertigo slouched impatiently against the wall, glancing at his watch, and sighing, "I really hope we have enough time to pull this off. How long d'you think Mystique can keep the X-Men fooled?"

"If Crusader uses her telepathy, she'll know right away that Mystique isn't who she's pretending to be," I said.

Gemini retorted, "She knows what she's doing. She'll keep them occupied long enough. We can count on it."

"Hope you're right," said Vertigo. "I – "

He stopped at the sound of someone approaching. Light, padding footsteps could be heard on the stairs, coming downwards, and each of us reacted instantly, taking up defensive postures to face whatever danger might be nearing us. A dark figure was making its way down the stairs, and as they entered the dim light of the hallway, we relaxed. The figure was a child, no older than eight, clearly just out of bed, wearing a nightdress and carrying a stuffed animal. I vaguely recalled the layout of the building – she was probably heading down to the kitchen for a midnight snack, or possibly to the games room to watch TV. The child saw us; she stopped and a small frown crossed her face, "Who are you?"

"We're the Brotherhood," said Vertigo lazily.

The child's eyes went wide with horror. Clutching her stuffed toy to her chest, she stammered, "Please – please don't kill me!"

"Why would we want to do that?"

"Please, don't – don't kill me!"

She was backing away, trying to find some way to escape, visibly shaking with fear. I said quickly, "Look, we're not gonna hurt you."

"But – but you're the Brotherhood – you kill people – that's what you do – isn't it?"

"No – who told you that?"

"The – the adults. They said – "

Gemini interrupted angrily, "Then they're lying! They're the ones who kill mutants!"

"No they don't!" said the child, then she asked uncertainly. "Do they?"

The elevator had just reached our level, and as the doors slid open, we walked inside. The child watched us, still scared and confused, and I said to her, "Nobody's going to hurt you. Just go back to bed and forget you saw us, OK?"

"But what are you doing here?"

"We're trying to help a friend. Go back to bed."

"OK…"

The elevator doors closed, and we lost sight of her. Gemini was still angry, "Did you hear what she said? She thinks we're just a bunch of murderers!"

"Well, that's only what she's been told," said Vertigo.

"I know that! It's the X-Men! They're lying to these kids, filling their heads with propaganda and poison, and manipulating them into betraying their own kind!"

"So, what do you want to do about it?"

She threw up her hands, "I don't know! We have to do _some_thing! We can't just let our enemies turn these kids into cold-hearted mutant-killing machines!"

"Maybe so, but not this mission. We haven't got enough time to do anything more than look for Pyro."

The elevator reached the underground level, and we stepped out.

"Gosh…this brings back memories," I said, looking around.

"Happy ones?"

"Well, yes and no. This was one of the last places I saw Marina alive."

"Saw who?" Gemini asked.

"My – my friend. You know, the girl who was shot by the humans. The reason why I joined up."

"Oh yeah. I – sorry. So – so where will they be holding Pyro?"

I shrugged, "Dunno. I've only been down here a couple of times. I don't really know what's down here. We'll need to look around and try to find him."

We had reached the main corridor now, and Gemini was eyeing suspiciously the huge round door that led to the Cerebro machine.

"What's in there?" she asked. "Is that the torture room?"

"The what?"

"The room where they torture mutants. Pyro told me about it."

"I don't think there's anything like that down here. Are you sure that's what he said?"

"Yeah."

I frowned. There was no torture room here. I was sure of that. Could Pyro have made a mistake? Hadn't he lived here once? He must have been down here before. He must have known there was nothing like that here – mustn't he? He wouldn't have lied to Gemini – would he? He must have simply made a mistake. That in itself was weird though, since he didn't make many.

The corridor branched in both directions and Vertigo said, "All right, Gladiator, which way?"

I struggled to remember the layout of the base, "Let's try down here."

"OK."

We hurried down the passageway to the left, and Gemini said, "Looks like they patched up our tunnel."

Vertigo and I looked over to see the newly reinforced section of adamantium-shielded wall that had once been the entrance to a tunnel dug by Mole. That had been during the first Brotherhood invasion of the school, back when I was still blindly following what my parents had told me…back when Marina was still alive. I thought back sadly to that happy time, that happy time that would never come back. If only – if only there was something I could do, anything, to see her again. Just once. To see those deep, emerald eyes; to feel that soft, gentle touch; to see that smile, so rare but so beautiful – just once again. I would have given anything, even my own life, if it meant that Marina might get a second chance to live hers.

Might I have stayed with the X-Men if she had not died? Might I never have become consumed by the terrible sadness and vicious thirst for revenge that now drove me daily? Might I have decided that human life _was_ worth fighting for? I didn't know. If I still had Marina, would I even have cared about anything else? Just to have her at my side once more would have been enough to make me happy for the rest of my life.

I sighed. I had to let go of my sorrow. I knew I mustn't ever forget Marina, but I had to accept that she was gone and move on. It was the only thing to do. I had Cassandra now, Cassandra who loved me and had agreed to marry me. I had to devote my life to her now, to protecting her and any children we might someday have together. I had to, but I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I loved Cassie, and there were a lot of good and wonderful things about her, but she wasn't Marina, and she never would be. I couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was that made me love Marina, but whatever it was, it had been unique to her, and I would never find it in another girl. She was lost, lost forever, taken from me, torn from within my heart. It was something that a person of my age should not have to experience. Nobody should lose a love so young in life. That was what the X-Men didn't understand. None of them knew what it was like to lose somebody. None of them knew what it was like to have their true love taken away by the evil of others. Maybe if they had, they wouldn't be so keen to protect the humans.

I came back to reality as we followed Vertigo into a room on the right. I remembered this room – it was a meeting room of some kind – I had been here once before. A round metal table with a dozen or so chairs stood in the middle of the room. On the table were various papers and documents, and the chairs looked as if they had been pushed back in a hurry.

"Looks like they were having a meeting," said Vertigo, fingering some of the papers. "They must have been in the middle of it when they had to go off and stop 'us'."

He picked up a couple of the documents and idly scanned them. Suddenly his eyes widened, "Whoa – this is interesting."

"What is?"

"Hold on. I wanna read some more."

"We haven't got time! We need to find Pyro _now_!" Gemini snapped.

Vertigo didn't look up, "You two go and find him. This stuff looks as if it could be important…"

Gemini sighed impatiently and grabbed my arm, "Come on!"

We left the room and hurried down the passageway, entering a section of the base I had never seen before.

"Pyro!!" she yelled. "Are you in here?!"

We could hear no response. There were doors on either side of the corridor, and she began trying them one by one.

"Hey, this one's locked!" she exclaimed. "He must be in here!"

I hurried over to her side. She struggled with the door, trying to force it open with her shoulder. 

"Here, I'll try."

She stepped aside to allow me room. There were no windows in the door, and it looked pretty solid. There was no way of telling what was inside, but it was locked – that was a hopeful sign that Pyro might be inside. I tried to force the lock, but it held firm. I stood back and kicked the door. It gave slightly, but remained closed. Tightening my muscles, I threw myself at the door, putting all of my strength behind a shoulder charge, and was rewarded with the sound of one of the hinges snapping, and the door buckling under my power. Jumping back, I charged the door once more, and this time it caved in, ripped from its hinges, collapsing into the room beyond.

"Pyro!" Gemini cried, relief in her voice.

He stood just inside, and she ran forward to throw her arms around him, hugging him tightly, resting her head against his chest, as if she was a loving daughter embracing her father.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Pyro demanded.

"We came to get you out," I said. "We haven't much time, come on!"

He managed to disentangle himself from Gemini, and we hurried back into the corridor outside.

"Where are the others? And where are the X-Men?" he asked.

"The rest are upstairs, securing our escape route. The X-Men aren't here. They were fooled into leaving the school unguarded, but they'll be back soon."

"Then let's hurry."

As we ran back towards the elevator, Vertigo emerged from the meeting room, a bundle of papers under his arm, announcing, "Pyro, you've _got_ to see these!"

"I will as soon as we get out of here! Hurry!"

We got to the elevator, and Pyro hit the button to ascend. The journey upwards was as swift as ever, but we were in such a hurry it felt like a year and a day. We had no idea when our enemies would get back, and we had to get out of here before they could intercept us. If they caught up with us, they would try to destroy us. We mightn't be so lucky a second time – and if the X-Men defeated us, the fate of mutantkind would be sealed.

As soon as the lift reached the ground floor, we were out and hurrying towards the exit. We turned the corner that led to the front door, and we noticed instantly that Recyclo and Helios were not where we had left them. The first tendrils of panic began to ensnare my mind. Where were they? Had they gone outside? Had they gone elsewhere to talk in private? Having been apart for sixteen years, what if they decided they now wanted to stick together? What if Recyclo wanted to stay here with his twin brother? What if Helios wanted to come with us?

The first of the screams from outside reached my ears just as we reached the front door. The sounds of battle followed immediately, and I knew instantly that things had gone wrong. We had taken too long. The X-Men were here, and they were killing my friends. We would be lucky to escape with our lives. 

"You'd better summon the jet!" I said to Pyro.

He shook his head, "I had to destroy my remote signaller in case the X-Men tried to use it! Come on, we'll have get outside and help them!"

I kicked open the front doors of the mansion and we hurried outside to aid our friends. The first person I saw was Cassandra, as she began running towards us.

"Pyro! Gladiator!" she cried. "We're under attack! It's them!"

"The X-Men?"

"No! Look!"

Through the darkness strode a gigantic figure, mammoth fists bunched as he swung a punch at a much smaller person near the ground. In the shadows a tall, gaunt shape glided like a ghost, accompanied by a skeletal figure I recognised all too well. From behind me came a terrible hissing sound I had hoped never to hear again.

"Get down!" Cassandra yelled.

I dived to the ground, as a dark shape dropped from somewhere above me, a clawed hand swiping through the air where my head had just been. 

"It's _them_!" Gemini screamed.

"Get out of here! Go to the jet!" Pyro ordered, pushing her in the direction of safety.

He reached for the pocket where he normally kept his lighter, but it wasn't there. The X-Men must have taken it from him. I could see more clearly now in the darkness, and I identified the shape which had attacked me as the sneering insectoid mutant. These were the guys we had encountered in that lab…how had they got out? How had they got here? What were they trying to do? Why were they attacking us?

I had no time to think, as the insectoid drew back his head and spat a mouthful of acid in my direction. I ducked, and the corrosive liquid splattered on to the wall of the mansion, sizzling through the stone. Pyro grabbed Cassandra and propelled her away from the building, yelling, "Go to the jet!"

Vertigo sprang at the insectoid, twisting and kicking it in the head, narrowly avoiding a slash from its claws. The insectoid hissed loudly once more, and jumped to adhere itself to the side of the building, climbing up out of our reach. I breathed two lungs' worth of flame in its direction, but it was too far away and the fire burned up in the air. I heard a noise from behind me, and reacted just in time to dodge the skeletoid, whose dry, emaciated hand was reaching for the skin on the back of my neck. Vertigo administered a powerful kick to the vampire's chest, knocking it away from us. In the darkness I heard the roar of the giant.

There was a meaty _thwack_ and a small figure came hurtling through the air past us. It was Mole, and he collapsed on the ground beside Pyro, unconscious. Scarab appeared from the black night, hurrying towards his friend's side. He bent to check Mole was alive, then turned to face whatever enemy might approach.

"Scarab, get him out of here!" Pyro commanded. "He's hurt bad – get him to the jet! Go! Now!"

Scarab didn't argue, lifting Mole's inert form from the ground and hurrying off into the darkness.

Pyro yelled to me, "Gladiator! Go! This isn't our fight!"

I had turned, and was ready to obey his order, when some instinct made me turn back and look up. The insectoid was steadily climbing the side of the mansion, and had now reached one of the bedroom windows. As I watched, his fist reached out to smash the window, and I heard a scream from inside. _The children_. Was that why these mutants had come here? Had they been sent to kill the children? I felt myself moving back towards the front door. We couldn't leave now. If the kids were in danger, somebody had to protect them, and until the X-Men got back, that somebody was us.

"Where are you _going_?" Pyro demanded, grabbing my arm. "I said go to the jet!"

"Look!" I said, pointing up to where the insectoid was now climbing through the window into the interior of the mansion. "The kids are in danger! We can't go!"

"Get on the jet! We're getting out of here! That's an order!" 

My anger rose, "Damn you, we _can_'_t _leave the children in danger! You go if you want – I'm staying!"

I didn't wait to hear his response. I ran to the front doors of the mansion building, threw them open, and darted inside. I could already hear terrified screams from the upper floors – the insectoid had to be attacking the children. I had to get to him and stop him before he harmed any of them. Anything else was unthinkable. What the hell were these guys doing here anyway? I vaguely remembered Pyro saying something about them being part of a government research project – something to do with building an army of genetic mutants – was that what this was about? Had they been sent to eliminate the mutants here? Had the government waited until the X-Men had left, or had it just been coincidence? Whatever the case, the simple fact was that I had to protect these children, in any way I could, until the X-Men got here.   

A/N: I've updated the website, please take a look. The link's in my profile. Anyone interested in character pictures, please let me know. Thanks


	14. Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Chapter Fourteen

The screams grew louder as I sprinted up the stairs to the second floor. As I reached the corridor where the bedrooms were located, I was immediately greeted by a group of terrified, screaming kids fleeing towards me. One of them was the little girl we had met earlier. She recognised me and cried, "Help! Please help us!"

"Where is he?" I demanded.

"In there!"

She pointed to a bedroom on the left, the door of which was lying slightly ajar. I waited until the last of the children had run past me, then walked over to the door, kicked it open, and prepared to attack my enemy. The insectoid was crouched at the opposite end of the bedroom, and hissed angrily at me as I entered. He reacted fastest, spitting a wad of acid at my face, forcing me to drop to the ground to avoid it. The acid splashed on to the wall behind me, eating through the wooden panelling with frightening speed. Even as I jumped back to my feet, the insectoid was hanging from the ceiling and moving above my head towards the door. I hurried after him, determined not to allow him anywhere near the children. Outside the room, he was back on the floor, and was spreading his clawed hands, watching as the frightened youngsters backed away from him.

"Get out of here!" I yelled at them.

From the back of my throat shot a jet of flame that licked at the insectoid's small, squat form – he gave a high-pitched shriek of pain and leapt to attach himself to the ceiling. I ran towards him, breathing another mouthful of fire up at him. If fire could hurt him, then I could keep him away from the kids. What would the X-Men think if they could see me now, going to these lengths to protect the children in their school? Maybe they would see the truth about us, that we weren't mindless killing machines, that we simply wanted to protect our young.

The insectoid snarled angrily and dropped from the ceiling on top of me. I threw myself to the side to avoid him, landing on the wooden floor, jarring myself for a moment. He kicked out at me, hitting me in the jaw, but doing no damage and causing no pain. I rolled over, stood, and approached him with my fists clenched, inhaling ready to breathe fire at him once more, my body tensed and prepared to leap aside to avoid his acid-spitting attack.

"This – this way! Everybody come this way!"

I glanced over my shoulder for just a second. Somebody, I couldn't see who, was directing the children away from us, hopefully taking them somewhere safe. It had been a girl's voice; it was probably one of the older students. The insectoid gave another furious snarl as he saw his prey escaping from him. I breathed another jet of flame in his direction, and again he gave a high pitched howl as it singed his flesh. With lightning speed, and before I could react in any way, he jumped, twisted, kicking me in the face as he moved, and attached himself to the ceiling once more, hurrying away from me as fast as he could. I was about to go after him, but he was heading in the opposite direction from the kids. As long as he wasn't near them, they were safe, and I was doing my duty of protecting them. I ran to the stairs to find out where the children had gone. There were still three of these guys out there somewhere…any one of them could be trying to harm the kids right now.

As I descended the staircase, I saw the children hurriedly filing into a room on the first floor…the dining room, if I recalled the mansion correctly. I darted over to protect them, to try and reassure them. I entered the dining room to find the children gathered in the corner, many of the younger ones sobbing in terror, while the older ones tried to maintain some semblance of calm. Several of the kids screamed when they saw me, clearly thinking I was one of the ones who had come to hurt them. The oldest ones, however, recognised me from my time here, and one of them, a tall lad aged about ten with ginger hair and freckles, spoke up, "Gary, what's going on? What's happening?"

"I wish I could tell you," I answered quickly. "I honestly don't know."

"Is it true what they say – that you've joined the Brotherhood?"

I shook my head, "Don't worry about that just now. All I'm interested in is keeping you – keeping all of us – safe."

He nodded, "OK. Aqua told us to hide in here. Is that all right?"

"Who?"

Before he could respond, I heard a loud crash from the ground floor, and an equally loud furious roar. It had to be the giant mutant – I wondered if these attackers had names…

"All right, listen," I said. "You guys just stay here and keep quiet, OK? There's only one door into this room, so keep it closed and block it up with everything you can. OK? Don't come back out until – until your teachers get back. They should be here soon."

__

By which time I most certainly shouldn't be here, I added to myself.

"What are you gonna do?" the boy asked.

"What I was born to do."

The nervous children watched me as ran from the room, heading downstairs to fight off whatever invaders I might find. I had heard the roar of the giant, and he shouldn't be too difficult to track down. The insectoid was skulking around somewhere as well. I had no idea where the other two might be, the skeletoid and the one who looked like a ghost.

"Come on, X-Men," I muttered to myself. "Hurry up and get here!"

The irony of it didn't escape me. A few minutes ago I had hoping and praying that they wouldn't get here, that we could get away safely before they arrived, but now the situation was completely different. For all I knew, they were still with Mystique, wherever she was, still trying to fight her illusions. If only Mystique knew that the longer she now delayed them, the more mutant children were being put in danger. I couldn't protect the kids forever, not on my own. There were too many for me to protect by myself. The X-Men would be all right. There were nine of them, and they knew the children well enough to make sure none of them was missing. For a moment or so I worried that maybe one or two them might have been left behind upstairs, but the boy would have told me.

I reached the bottom of the stairs, and paused in the shadows on the ground floor, listening intently for any sound that might tell me where my enemies were. For a few moments there was nothing, then I heard a noise from somewhere to my right. I took a deep breath then, keeping in the shadows, I began to move in that direction. Soon the sounds became louder and more pronounced, and it became clear that somebody was clumsily moving about in one of the rooms on the right hand side of the corridor. I listened at each door until I found the right one, inched it open, and looked through the crack.

The giant mutant was inside the room, stomping about angrily, throwing furniture around and generally tearing up the place as he searched for anybody who might be hiding from him. What should I do? Should I attack him and try to knock him out? Or should I merely keep an eye on him until Crusader and the rest got back? In the end I didn't have to make a decision, as a door at the other side of the room opened, and the other three walked in: the insectoid, the vampire and the ghost. I could get a proper look at him now. He walked with a curious-looking gait, almost gliding as if he _was_ a ghost. The skin of his face and hands was chalk-white, the rest of his body hidden beneath a black cloak that brushed the ground as he walked. He looked like a walking corpse, all apart from his eyes, which were a startlingly bright blue.

"They are not here…"

When he spoke, it was as if an icy cold wind had swept throughout the room, carrying with it the stench of death and decay. That had to be partly my imagination, but right now I couldn't be sure what was imagined and what was real.

"We came to the wrong place?" said another voice – the vampire – his voice sounded dry and cracked as if it was being forced through a throat that was made entirely of bone, with the muscles wasted away.

The corpse-like one glanced at him, "No…this is the right place…but they are not here…"

"There's a whole buncha kids upstairs," said the insectoid, in a voice that was more like a cackle than anything else. "What if we kill them instead?"

"Yes…" said the ghost slowly. "War?"

The giant looked over. 

"Go to the front entrance and wait…we will join you once it is done…Pestilence?"

The insectoid responded, "Yeah?" 

"Go to the top of the building and keep watch…those we seek may return ere long…Famine?"

The vampire looked at him. 

"You and I will go together…these children will die…for the Apocalypse has come…"

"The Apocalypse has come," the other three repeated.

I watched with a growing sense of dread engulfing my heart. Who _were_ these guys? They were acting as if they were part of some crazy cult. 'The Apocalypse has come' – what the hell did _that_ mean? And what were those names they had used? War…Pestilence…Famine…of course – from the book of Revelation – the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The fourth was Death. I vaguely remembered the words from the Bible: _I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named Death_. That had to be the name of the ghost. I continued to watch, my fear growing and gnawing at my insides, as the four of them began to move towards the door I was hidden behind. I knew I had to do something or I would be discovered, but my mind was so confused and overwhelmed by what I had just seen, that I couldn't make myself move an inch.

"Hey," came a hiss from behind me.

Caught totally by surprise, I jumped what felt about a mile, and whirled to see who was there. It was Helios. I finally came to my senses and the two of us hurried away from the door, ducking into the shadows by the stairs.

"What are you _doing_?" he whispered. "The rest of the – the rest of your people have gone."

"I know – I'm here to protect the children."

"That's what _we're _supposed to be doing!"

"Huh?"

"The X-Men told us they had to go…I'm not sure where exactly, I think it has something to do with the - with your people. They didn't want to leave the kids unguarded, so they left me and Aqua in charge."

"Who?"

He didn't answer, instead he asked, "Gary, I don't understand! What happened to you? Why did you join the Brotherhood?"

"Because I saw the truth."

"What truth?"

"I saw what the humans really are. When they killed her."

"Killed who?"

"Marina."

His eyes widened in surprise, "But Gary, Marina's not - "

"Sshh!"

The Apocalypse mutants were approaching. Helios and I ducked back as far as we could into the shadows, hoping we could remain unseen. I was too nervous and worried about the children for my camouflage to work. I was caught in indecision. We could hide or we could fight. My natural instinct was to fight, but was that such a great idea? There were four of them and two of us. I knew I could more than hold my own in a battle, but I wasn't so sure about Helios. And I didn't know for certain what powers these four guys had. I had never seen the ghost in action, and I was loathe to fight outnumbered against an enemy of unknown strength.

But I knew I had to do _some_thing. They were on their way to kill the children, and for me that was not an acceptable outcome. I would keep the kids safe, no matter what it took. Even if I had to sacrifice myself - well, it was better that I die than all of the children. I was beginning to understand why Pyro had allowed himself to be captured by the X-Men, so the rest of us could get to safety. He was simply being a good parent looking after his adopted children. It was exactly the same feeling that I was experiencing now. The children here, and the future they represented, was far more important than one single life. Yes, they were probably going to grow up and become X-Men, become my enemies…but still, they had to be given the _chance_ to see the truth. I made up my mind. As the four Horsemen reached our hiding place, I stood. The ghost was the first to spot me, and he held up one deathly pale hand to halt the others. 

"You want to kill those children, you'll have to kill me first," I challenged.

The insectoid Pestilence made as if to charge forward, but the ghost raised his hand once more to stop him. For several moments the two of us stared at each other, my chestnut brown eyes matching his brilliant blue ones. Then he spoke at last, "I am Death…you will stand aside, mortal…for the Apocalypse has come…"

My anger beginning to rise at the thought of these monsters harming the children, I retorted mockingly, "Well, the Apocalypse is going to have to wait. I'm the Gladiator and it has to come through me first."

This time the insectoid could not be stopped, and he sprang towards me, all his claws pointing directly at my throat. I reacted as quickly as I could, breathing out a wave of flame that met his oncoming form, burning him badly and dropping him to the floor. The other Horsemen responded instantly, the giant War and the vampire Famine moving towards me, ready to attack.

"Gary!"

Helios was on his feet, his left hand out, light shining forth from his palm and blinding the four Apocalypse mutants. Each of them flinched, screwing up their eyes against the light, and I took advantage of their momentary distraction. I kicked Pestilence in the chest, knocking him back into the others, sending Famine sprawling. War managed to keep his feet, and he swung a huge fist in my direction. Taken by surprise, I tried to dodge, couldn't, and his punch flung me through the air, hitting the wall with a hard, jarring impact. My mind fought against the shock, wavering on the brink of unconsciousness, and I struggled to get back to my feet. Helios was backing away from the Horsemen, and Pestilence spat a mouthful of acid in his direction. I dived to tackle Helios to the ground, knocking him to safety. The acid hit the wall and dribbled down towards the floor. 

Famine was on us now, his dry, bony hands reaching for my neck. I twisted to kick him away, but his thin skeletal form was tougher than it looked, and he absorbed the force of the kick without losing his balance. War threw another punch, which I just about managed to avoid, and Helios lifted his hand once more, blinding our enemies a second time. I grabbed Famine and flung him away from us, taking care not to let his skin touch mine. With his eyes closed against the light, Pestilence spat acid in what he hoped was my direction. It missed. Clumsily, blindly, War swung his fist, hitting nothing but the wall. I delivered a devastating punch to his jaw, knocking him on to his back. Death still stood at the back of the group. He hadn't moved since the fight had begun, seeming content to allow the other Horsemen to finish us off. 

"You know not who you defy…" said Death menacingly, his voice once more accompanied by the sensation of an icy cold wind and the stink of putrefaction.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that," I smirked, my anger breeding confidence. "I'm the world's most powerful mutant."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," came a voice from behind me.

I whirled in surprise. Crusader stood at the end of the corridor. Cyclops and Wolverine were on either side of her, and within seconds the rest of the X-Men had appeared beside them. For a moment I paused, trapped between them, the X-Men on one side and the Horsemen of the Apocalypse on the other. Both were my enemies, and both would kill me if they could.

"Gary!" Crusader exclaimed. "Gary, I know why you're here! I know you want to protect the children! We don't need to fight! Gary, please!"

"My name is Gladiator!"

"Gary, listen to me. Please, Gary. There's something you have to know. It's about Marina."

My fury rose at the name of my dead love, and I yelled, "Don't you _ever_ mention her name! It's because of you people she's dead!"

Before Crusader could respond, I heard Famine's wheezy voice from behind me, "Those are the ones."

"Kill them…" Death commanded.

"Looks as if my work here is done," I said.

I activated my camouflage, taking everyone by surprise, and without hesitation I ploughed straight towards the Horsemen. I had to escape either way, and I'd rather have taken my chances with them than the X-Men. Kicking Famine aside, I swerved past Death, avoided the swiping claws of Pestilence, and was free. Pushing open the nearest door, I found myself in a darkened room. There was a window; I ran over to force it open and jump out on to the ground outside. 

I could leave them to it. The X-Men could look after the children now. What happened between them and the Horsemen didn't really matter to me. If our enemies expended all their energy fighting each other, all the better for us. Speaking of that, where were the rest of the Brotherhood? I looked around for a moment to try and get my bearings - where was the jet from here? It took me a minute or two to work out exactly whereabouts in the estate I was, then I headed in the direction we had left the aircraft. It did occur to me that they might already be gone, that Pyro might have fulfilled his promise to get away immediately, but as I hurried through the darkness, I could just about make out the shape of the jet nestled by the edge of the treeline. The landing ramp was still down, and I hurried up into its interior. Vertigo sat restlessly at the controls, with Recyclo leaning coolly against a seat. In the main compartment Mole lay unconscious, with Atlas trying to tend to him, busy mixing together some herbs in a small strip of bandage. Scarab was watching over his best friend with concern in his face. Relief spread over the faces of both of the girls as they saw me.

"You waited for me!" I exclaimed breathlessly.

Cassandra stood, and we kissed. She smiled, "Of course we waited for you. You think I'd let them leave without you?"

"What happened?" Gemini asked. "Did you see the X-Men? We think they just landed!"

"Yeah, they did. Where's Pyro?"

Vertigo raised his eyebrows, "Actually, we were hoping you might tell us that."

"Eh?"

"We - uh - seem to have lost him."

"How?"

"After you ran back into the building, he told the rest of us to get back to the jet. He was right behind us - at least I think he was - I lost sight of him when we reached the trees."

"He must have got lost - he wouldn't know where we'd hidden the jet, remember."

"Yeah."

"We have to find him," Gemini declared. "Vertigo, do something!"

He looked at her, "What do you want me to do about it? If Mole were awake he'd be able to sniff him out - but he's not."

"We have to search for him!" she demanded angrily. "I'm not leaving here without him! He's the reason why we came here!!"

"All right, keep your panties on. Atlas, Scarab, you stay here and watch over Mole. The rest of us will split up into pairs and look for Pyro. Gladiator and Cassandra, me and Gemini, and Recyclo…I guess you're on your own."

"I prefer it that way," Recyclo said.

"Let's go."

The five of us left the jet, and I looked around in the darkness.

"He could be anywhere," I said.

"PYRO!!" yelled Gemini. "Where are you?"

Vertigo put his hand over her mouth, "Keep your voice down! You want the X-Men to hear us?"

"I think they're busy right now," I said.

"Whatever. Split up and start looking."

Cassandra and I moved away from the jet, heading a little deeper into the forest.

"These trees go on forever," she said. "I can see how easily he must have gotten lost. We'll get lost too if we're not careful."

"Yeah."

"What happened inside the mansion? Did you run into the X-Men? What happened with those other guys?"

"Yeah, I left them fighting each other. I don't know what those guys wanted exactly…but I think they were here to kill the X-Men."

"Does that mean they're on our side?"

I shook my head, "Oh no. Absolutely not. Their reaction, on failing to find who they had come for, was to kill all the children in the school. I had to stop them."

Cassie smiled, "I love you, Gladiator. I think you'll make a wonderful father."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Hey, wait - did you see something up ahead?"

"Where?"

"There! It's Pyro!"

We had found him. Hurrying through the darkness, we drew closer to our leader. Kneeling on the earthen ground with his head bowed, he didn't appear to be aware of our approach.

"Pyro!" Cassie exclaimed. "Were you lost? The jet's this way, come on!"

Pyro made no response. I was about to shake him by the arm when I noticed he was kneeling in front of something. Looking over his shoulder, I could see it was a small gravestone. A terrible sickening, sinking feeling spread over my heart as I realised what it had to be. This had to be Marina's grave. The X-Men must have buried her here in the forest after she had died, and put up this gravestone as a memorial. My fury burned. _How dare they_. Her death had been their fault - how dare they pretend that they were affected by her passing? It wasn't until I took a closer look that I saw the name on the gravestone. It wasn't Marina's.

**JACQUELINE CARTIER** was the epitaph. It was a name I had never heard before. Who was she? How had she died? Why was she buried here?

"Was she - was she your friend?" Cassandra asked softly, laying her hand gently on Pyro's shoulder.

He looked up, and his voice shook, "Yes. She was the only person I ever loved. The only person who ever understood me for what I truly am."

"What - what happened?"

Pyro sighed, and closed his eyes, as if he could shut out the terrible memories that he had to be reliving, "A human killed her."

"Is that the reason why you - ?"

"Why I joined the Brotherhood? It's part of the reason," he paused for a moment, then clearly decided to open his heart to Cassandra. "Initially I joined to piss off the X-Men; I was sick of them treating me like a kid. When I met Jacqueline, something changed inside me. There was something there that had never been there before. It was something that I didn't even know it was possible to feel. It was like a whole new world had opened up inside of me. That probably doesn't make any sense to somebody your age, but - "

"It does," I said. "I feel the same way you do. I joined up because the humans killed my friend."

He went on, "It was the most wonderful feeling I ever knew. It only lasted for a matter of hours before she was taken away from me. I've never forgiven the humans or the X-Men for that loss."

"Then we feel exactly the same way," I told him.

He looked at me, "Yes - I suppose we are one and the same. All of us. Don't - don't mention this to anyone."

"We won't."

Pyro stood, and looked down at the small grave once more, "I never even knew she was buried here. I - it's - never mind. I don't think anybody else would understand the way I feel. Let's go."

Just like that, the window he had left open into his heart, was closed. Cassandra and I looked at each other as he walked away, back the way we had come, then we hurried after him. I cast a final glance back at the small memorial in the midst of the forest. The sickening feeling had not lifted entirely from my heart - what if there was a similar shrine elsewhere in the woods, devoted to Marina? What if I had happened to stumble upon it, as Pyro must have just happened to stumble upon this one? What must it have done to him? To have those memories, which he must have been trying so hard to suppress, suddenly etched into his subconscious once more? I couldn't begin to imagine what he was going through. To have gone sixteen years or more constantly reliving the death of the one he loved. I had lived almost a month since Marina's death, doing exactly the same thing. It was hellish enough, but at least I had Cassandra by my side. Pyro had nobody. And _sixteen years…_longer than I had been alive, Pyro had been living with his heart ripped out. No wonder he hated the humans the way he did…

I was feeling subdued when I got back to the jet; Cassandra obviously sensed my mood and made no attempts to talk to me, instead gently holding my hand in hers. Vertigo, Gemini and Recyclo were waiting for us, and we gathered in the main compartment of the jet. Mole had just regained consciousness, and was sitting up when we got back, holding a bandage against a wound in his forehead.

"Vertigo," said Pyro. "What was it you wanted to show me earlier?"

Vertigo must have brought back the papers from the X-Men's meeting room, as he produced them now from inside the cockpit, saying, "These. The X-Men were having a meeting just before they left. It makes quite interesting reading, I think you'll find."

Pyro took the documents and scanned them. He was a fast reader, and by the time he had finished the last page, his eyes had already widened with intrigue.

"This is it," he said.

"What?" asked Gemini.

He looked at her, then at each of us in turn, "This is what we need. This is the last piece in the puzzle. This spells out our final victory over the X-Men."


	15. The Last Battle

  
  
Chapter Fifteen  
  
  
  
Pyro continued to read over the documents as we travelled back to the island. He was too engrossed to explain what he had just discovered. To say that the rest of us were intrigued would have been an understatement. Gemini tried to read over his shoulder, but Pyro motioned her away, not wanting the distraction. A little angry and a little hurt, she sat down on the other side of the compartment, her back to him. He was too busy to notice. I exchanged glances with Cassandra, but she only shrugged. I frowned. What could be in those papers that was so important? How could it lead to our final victory and the X-Men's final defeat? Was it some secret weakness they had? Could it be some immensely powerful - resource - that the X-Men knew about, and didn't want us to find out about? When was Pyro going to tell us? Vertigo knew what it was, and I thought about asking him, but he was too busy flying the jet and wouldn't want to be talked to right now.  
  
It wasn't until we got back to the island that Pyro finally looked up and told us to meet him in the briefing room. Naturally we wanted to hurry straight there, but there wasn't any point in getting there before Pyro did, and he seemed to be heading to the kitchen for something to eat. Obviously he hadn't eaten anything while in the 'care' of our enemies. Cassandra and I took the opportunity to go to our room to check on the little girl. When we entered the room we could see the bed was empty, and the girl was on her feet, standing by the window, looking out towards the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.  
  
"Hey," said Cassandra. "How are you feeling?"  
  
The girl looked over in surprise, "I - I thought you'd gone!"  
  
"We just got back. Are you feeling all right?"  
  
"I - I think so. I woke up a little while ago. I - I don't - where am I?"  
  
Cassie had walked across the room and now she kneeled down in front of the little girl, bringing herself down to the child's height so she didn't appear threatening. She said, "This is our island. It's a few miles from the coast."  
  
"This is America," I said to the girl.  
  
Her eyes widened, "America? How did I - what am I doing in America? Who are you?"  
  
"We're mutants," said Cassie. "We're going to look after you and make sure that people can't hurt you ever again. I'm Cassandra and that's Gladiator. What's your name?"  
  
The girl looked away sadly, "I - I don't have one. At the orphanage they used to call me The Freak."  
  
My anger burned, but I tried not to let it show. I didn't want to frighten her. The child was crying, obviously reliving painful memories of her childhood, and Cassandra did the only thing possible in this situation, taking the tiny mutant in her arms and hugging her, speaking to her in a quiet, reassuring voice. After a minute or two the girl's tears dried up and she got herself back under control. Her hand clasped Cassie's and I could sense that a bond had been formed between them. Cassandra was only seven years older but already she was taking care of this child in almost a maternal way. She was only fourteen, but like the rest of us Cassie had had to grow up quickly and learn to depend on herself. This was just instinct; she probably didn't even notice. I watched as she ran her fingers over the torn, ragged T-shirt the girl was wearing, and said, "Do you want to change into something else? I think we've got some old clothes that will fit you."  
  
The child nodded. Cassandra looked at me, "Gladiator, um, if you wouldn't mind…"  
  
"Mind what? Oh…right."  
  
I stepped outside the room to give the little girl some privacy to get changed. For a second I felt the tiniest pang of jealousy - jealousy that Cassandra had asked me to leave, that there was somebody else she wanted to be with rather than me. I pushed it away. It was a silly feeling. The girl wasn't a rival for Cassandra's affections, at least not in a romantic way, but still…I loved Cassie and I wanted to have her to myself. I understood why she loved the child and why the girl needed her, but - it was just stupid, really - I just didn't want Cassie to spend time alone with somebody who wasn't me. It was just a stupid animal feeling. It was something I'd have to get used to if we were going to have children some day. I forced it out of my mind.  
  
For want of anything better to do, I wandered down the corridor and into the kitchen. Pyro was still there, food in one hand, the X-Men's documents in the other, still reading over them. Gemini was nearby, still trying to get his attention, still upset and hurt that he was ignoring her. Recyclo stood by the window, his arms folded, gazing out emotionlessly at the horizon. I realised he was looking back in the direction we had just come, the direction of the mansion - were his thoughts going back to what had happened earlier? They had to be. He had to be thinking about his brother, about Helios. They must have got separated when the Horsemen attacked the school; Recyclo had ended up back with us, and I had left Helios with the X-Men. Obviously the two of them had never got the chance to talk to each other in the way that they had wanted, to open their hearts and share the desolation of being kept apart for sixteen years. Perhaps it gave a clue to what made Recyclo the way he was, so cold, so stoical, so emotionless. Was he too holding back memories, agonies from his past that were too painful to recall? Was this his way of blocking it out? Did he stop himself from feeling the pain by simply refusing to feel anything at all? I didn't know. Until such time as he chose to tell us, I could only guess. Through the window I could see Vertigo manoeuvring the jet on its pad, while Atlas and Scarab manhandled the refuelling equipment over towards it. Mole had to be elsewhere, recovering from his injuries. Suddenly something occurred to me.  
  
"Where's Mystique?" I asked.  
  
Gemini looked up at me, then at Pyro. He frowned, "What are you talking about?"  
  
Of course. He didn't know. Obviously nobody had yet explained to him how we had achieved his rescue.  
  
"Mystique helped us get you out," I said.  
  
He shook his head, "Mystique's dead. She died round about the same time as Magneto."  
  
"No, she didn't, she's alive," said Gemini. "We saw her. She helped us."  
  
"It must have been somebody else."  
  
"Somebody else with the exact same mutation?" I said. "Unless she has a daughter…"  
  
"She doesn't."  
  
"Then it was her. What, do you think we all imagined it? She pretended to be us, to lure the X-Men away from their mansion, so we could get you out. We couldn't have done it if it hadn't been for her."  
  
Pyro shook his head adamantly, "I told you - she's dead."  
  
"What, you think we're lying?" Gemini demanded. "How else could we have gotten them to leave their school unguarded?"  
  
"I don't want to talk about this!" he snapped suddenly. "Briefing room. All of you! Now!"  
  
As he left the room, Gemini and I gave each other confused glances. What was all that about? Why didn't he believe us? Why did he refuse to believe that Mystique was alive? Had he seen her die, or appear to? Was that another one of the painful memories locked up inside his head? Was he finding it hard to let go of something that must have affected him badly? We didn't know. Maybe he would tell us when we got to the briefing room. Gemini and I left the room together and headed that way.  
  
  
  
"All right," Pyro began, when we were all gathered in the meeting room. "This is a briefing, so I'll be brief. What Vertigo has discovered gives us the chance to settle the conflict between humans and mutants, between ourselves and the X-Men, forever."  
  
Gemini couldn't contain her curiosity any longer, "So what is it?"  
  
"The X-Men have developed a cure for our Plague. We knew they were trying to do so, but we couldn't tell whether or not they would succeed. It seems they have, and what's more – " he pointed to the documents he was holding, " – we know where they're storing it."  
  
So my parents' attempts to create a vaccine had been successful. With everything that had happened, I had forgotten all about it. Pyro went on, "Currently they only have one small sample of the cure. We must strike before they have a chance to synthesise any more. If they were to mass-produce this vaccine, they could halt the progress of the Plague before it reaches Europe, and potentially save the human race. If we destroy this sample, it will be too late for them to develop another. By that time the virus would have spread irreversibly far across the planet."  
  
He looked at each one of us, his eyes strangely intense, "This, my Brothers and Sisters, is our moment. Everything we have fought for leads up to this. Today we can do what Magneto only hoped to achieve: the eradication of all human life. We leave immediately. All of you get ready."  
  
So this was it. This was what it came down to. All we had to do was destroy this vaccine, and the fight was over. We would have won. The humans would be no more, and the world would be a safe place for mutant children to grow up and live together. It would not bring Marina back, or Pyro's Jacqueline back, but at least it would ensure that no mutant ever had to go through what either of us was suffering: the loss of a loved one. And once the humans were gone, it didn't matter what the X-Men did to us. They might try to kill us in revenge, they might simply resign themselves to their defeat, or they might even realise we had been right all along – whatever happened, our fight would be over and the future of the world's mutants would be a bright new horizon, like a rainbow in the sky.  
  
Should I be feeling remorse that the humans would all soon be dead? I wasn't feeling any, but part of me told me that I should. But why? All the humans did was try to hurt us. Marina, Cassandra, Gemini, the tiny mutant we had just met – all of the girls I loved so much – had all suffered terribly at the hands of the sub-creatures. One of them was dead, one of them had nearly met the same fate, and the other two had been tormented and traumatised for fourteen years. How could we, after all that, feel sorry for those who had done it to us? All humans were the same, they all hated us. Given the chance, any one of them would have pulled the trigger to fire the shot that killed Marina. They were all just the same animal with a different face. Weren't they?  
  
Someone took hold of my hands, and I looked up. Gemini was pulling me to my feet, urging me eagerly, "Come on, let's go get ready!"  
  
I left the room with her and Cassandra, Gemini positively dancing with delight at what Pyro had just told us.  
  
"You seem unusually cheerful," I said dryly.  
  
She smiled, "It's relief more than anything else. I – well, it's hard to explain. It's been six years since I was rescued from that sadistic laboratory, but still…a part of me is still afraid that one day I might be taken back there. I know how silly that sounds; I mean there's no way Pyro would allow me to be taken again, but that doesn't mean I'm not scared of it. When the humans die, my fear dies with them. I know nobody will ever try to hurt me again, and I can just – well, just get on with my life…maybe find a nice guy, settle down and maybe even start a family."  
  
"That's what we want to do," said Cassandra, as she took my hand.  
  
Gemini raised her eyebrows, "Really? Perfect! You two are just made for each other! Haven't I always said so?"  
  
I suppressed a smile as I remembered Gemini saying quite the opposite the first time she caught me and Cassandra kissing.  
  
"Maybe you and Recyclo could get together," I teased her.  
  
She laughed out loud, "Oh, you bet! Me and Mr Excitement, what a pair that would be! OK, I'll see you guys at the jet!"  
  
We were just passing her bedroom, and she ducked inside, closing the door behind her. Cassie and I walked on, hand in hand, until we reached our own room.  
  
"Where's the girl?" I asked, slightly worried when I saw our room was empty.  
  
"She's outside. She was feeling a bit restless and I saw no reason to keep her cooped up in here. Listen, Gladiator…"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I – I don't really know how to say this, but – oh – hold me."  
  
I took her in my arms, and she rested against me.   
  
"What's wrong?" I asked.  
  
"I don't know. It's this funny feeling I've got. I can't explain where it came from, but – how can I say this – it almost feels as if one of us won't be coming back from the mission today. As if these are the last few minutes we're going to have together, when we can say how much we love each other. And I love you…I – just in case one of us doesn't make it back, I just wanted to say that – that I love you."  
  
I was a little worried by that. I said, "You know I love you too. But you're scaring me now. That's not a premonition you're having, is it?"  
  
"I don't know. I'm hoping and praying that it isn't. I've never seen the future in this way before. Usually it comes into my mind like an image, and usually I can only predict what's going to happen a few minutes in advance. This feels totally different, and I'm – I'm hoping it's just a silly bit of panic. Maybe it's because we're going on a dangerous mission, but we've been on dangerous missions before and I've never felt like this beforehand. I don't know – maybe I should just stop thinking about it."  
  
"Well," I said uncertainly. "If it is a forewarning of danger, then make sure you look out for yourself – for both of us."  
  
"I will."  
  
Her words had just planted the first seeds of panic in my own mind. I didn't normally believe in fate or premonitions, or silly 'I have a feeling that…' statements. But when they came from a person who could see the future, it was worth worrying about. Could her 'feeling' be right? Could it be that one of us wouldn't be coming back? Was something going to happen to Cassandra? I knew I could never live with it if she died, not when I was already devastated over Marina. Or was something going to happen to me? I wasn't invincible, much as I often liked to think otherwise – was I going to run out of luck?  
  
I pushed my fears down. There was no point in worrying about it until the mission was underway. I knew both of us would be looking out for each other's safety, and together we could hopefully overcome any danger that came our way. Cassie and I stood together, holding each other tightly, sharing one last passionate kiss, pouring out all of the love we had for each other, then it was time to go. We hurried out of the room and to the jet pad.  
  
  
  
"OK," Pyro said, as the jet took off. "Part of me believes in being optimistic, and hoping that when we get to our destination, there won't be anybody to get in our way. But another part of me believes in always being prepared for the worst. It's likely that the X-Men have noticed their papers are missing, and if so it won't take them long to realise what we're planning to do. There is, unfortunately, a high probability that they will be waiting for us, ready to defend the facility where the cure is being stored."  
  
"So we kill them," said Recyclo.  
  
"No, we don't kill them. We don't kill other mutants. What we do is fight to keep them occupied long enough for one of us to sneak into the facility and plant explosives. I've shown you all how to set the explosives, so that could be any one of us. Now pay attention. With Crusader on their side, this probably isn't a fight we can win, and it isn't one that we need to or even intend to win. All we need to do is keep them busy long enough. That means playing to our strengths and their weaknesses. There are nine of us and nine of them. I've worked out which of us is best suited to take on each of them. First are the obvious choices. Shapeshifter is their martial arts expert, so I'll match him with mine: Vertigo."  
  
Vertigo nodded. Pyro went on, "Next obvious pairing is myself and Iceman. He has the advantage that he can both create and control ice, whereas I can only control fire. I've fought him before though, so it shouldn't be a problem. OK, next…Gemini and Cyclops."  
  
"Are you sure?" said Gemini. "He beat me pretty badly last time."  
  
"Because you didn't play to your strengths. His weakness is that despite having an awesomely powerful attack, he can only use it in a very narrow range. And he isn't the most agile person in the world either."  
  
"Right. So I use my twin to keep him distracted, while I beat the hell out of him?"  
  
"Yes, exactly. Moving on…Mole, I know you're still not 100% after getting hit earlier, but I know you're not the type to give up. I want you to fight Wolverine. You're a small enough target that he'll find it difficult to get to grips with you, and your fists should protect you from his claws."  
  
Mole looked less than pleased, but he didn't raise any argument. Pyro continued, "The next pairing is also pretty obvious. Atlas, you'll fight Storm."  
  
I raised my eyebrows. The power of earth against the power of nature. That ought to be quite a battle. Atlas looked nervous at the prospect, but he always seemed to be panicking over one thing or another, and despite him being paranoid I knew he wasn't a coward.  
  
"Cassandra, I want you to take Nightcrawler," said Pyro. "He's fast, agile, and he can teleport in an instant. His strength lies in doing the unexpected – but that won't work against you. He won't know what to do against somebody who can predict his every move, and with luck you can get the upper hand. OK…Scarab, you've got Rogue. She's not a strong fighter, but that doesn't mean she isn't dangerous. She'll try to drain you, to weaken you and steal your power. You've got enough natural strength and vitality that it'll be difficult for her to drain you, and that should give you enough time to knock her out. If they have a weak link, I think it's her."  
  
"Got it, boss," said Scarab.  
  
"That just leaves two of them. Recyclo, I want you to fight Shock. You know what she's capable of. Her lightning bolts aren't as powerful as Storm's, but they can still hurt us pretty badly. You'll be able to protect yourself by making non-metallic shields."  
  
Recyclo nodded silently. Pyro turned to me at last, "I know you won't like this, Gladiator, but you're going to have to tackle Crusader. I'm not expecting miracles, so don't worry if she turns out to be too strong. Just keep her busy for as long as you possibly can."  
  
"I will," I assured him. "You can count on me."  
  
"Good. Vertigo, how long?"  
  
"Few minutes."  
  
"We're nearly there already?" Gemini gasped in surprise.  
  
Vertigo grinned, "This baby's a damn sight faster than the old helicopter, remember?"  
  
We fell into silence as the jet neared our destination. It occurred to me that I had no idea whereabouts we were going. I assumed it was somewhere in America, but I hadn't asked where. It hadn't seemed important, but now, in a strange sort of way, it did. The final blow against humanity, the last strike that would eradicate the sub-creatures from our planet, and I didn't even know where it was going to take place. Maybe that was a good thing. Why should I care about the names the humans had given to places anyway? When they were gone we could re-shape the world the way we wanted it. Perhaps names like 'Britain' or 'America', 'Edinburgh' or 'New York' would be forgotten. The world would be born anew, changed for the better – just as humanity had changed for the better, changed into us.  
  
"Land a mile or so away from the facility," came Pyro's voice from the cockpit. "We'll approach on foot and try to take them by surprise."  
  
A minute or two later the jet touched down, and Pyro hit the switch to lower the ramp. He threw open the crate carrying the explosives, to reveal nine small packages inside. Each of us grabbed one; they were compact and had small clips to attach to my belt. Recyclo was back in the cockpit, fiddling with the controls – Pyro had told him to lock the auto-pilot so the jet couldn't be hijacked, so I assumed that was what he was doing.  
  
"All right, let's go," our leader said once Recyclo was done.  
  
We descended the ramp and stepped out on to the grass outside. I turned in a circle to look at our surroundings. I had no idea where we were, but it looked to be countryside – there were no towns or cities in sight, and I could make out a forest in the distance. On our left was a hill, and that appeared to be where Pyro was heading. Cassandra I and hurried after him, the rest just behind us. It took a few minutes to climb to the top, and from there we could get a full view of the surrounding land. I could now see in the distance the glass-fronted building that had to be our target. It was too far off to make out any detail, but Pyro was holding a pair of binoculars to his eyes and he said, "I can see them."  
  
"The X-Men?" asked Gemini.  
  
"Yes. Wait a minute – I can only see eight. One of them isn't here."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"I'm just trying to – I don't believe it."  
  
Gemini looked at him, "What?"  
  
"Crusader isn't here. They must have left her back at the mansion."  
  
"Why would they do that?"  
  
"They must have beaten off the Horsemen from their school," I said. "Maybe they left her there in case the Horsemen come back."  
  
Pyro nodded, "Sounds possible. Though according to those documents, Oculus and Gaia – your parents – are back at the mansion now, now that they've helped to develop this cure."  
  
I felt my body sag slightly with relief. One of my worries was that my parents might have been in this building with the vaccine when we destroyed it. I didn't want to kill them. They were enemies, but they were mutants and – well, they had given me life. I couldn't take theirs away. That fear now passed away – they were safely back in the mansion and wouldn't be in any danger from our attack.  
  
"They're obviously waiting for us," said Pyro. "I'd hate to disappoint them. OK, here's what we'll do. Crusader not being here gives us a huge advantage. Gladiator, that leaves you free to go inside and set the explosive charges. The rest of us can launch our attack on the X-Men and draw them away from the building."  
  
Everybody winced as Mole cracked his knuckles, "Let's do it."  
  
"OK," our leader said. "Gladiator, use your camouflage. Stay hidden until you have a clear run into the building. Once you're inside, we'll fall back to the jet and hold position there. Set the explosives and get out as fast as you can. When it goes up, we'll take off and come to pick you up. If everything goes according to plan, we'll get away with minimal injuries, the vaccine will be destroyed, and humanity will be extinct."  
  
Gemini smiled at me, "Good luck."  
  
"You too."  
  
Cassandra and I drew together for one quick kiss, both of us painfully aware that it might be the last one we ever shared. No. I couldn't think like that. Nothing was going to happen to either of us. Cassandra could look after herself, and I wasn't going to be in any real danger. My only difficulty lay in locating the vaccine and then getting out of the building safely before the bomb went off.  
  
"Move out!"  
  
They began to move, and I activated my camouflage, following close behind, waiting for the battle to begin before I made a run for the building. We hurried down the grassy slope towards the building, keeping behind the partial cover given by a small copse of trees. It wouldn't hide us for long. There was no question that our enemies would see us, but we had to get near enough in before that happened. Getting their attention was part of the plan, but only once we had got to a suitably close range.  
  
"They've spotted us!" I heard Pyro saying. "Everybody get ready!"  
  
Whether they had seen us, or whether Wolverine had smelt us, we couldn't tell, but I could now make out the figures of our enemies, moving across the ground to intercept us. Overhead the sky began to cloud over, and a rumble of thunder was greeted by a sudden crack of lightning. The fork of deadly electricity struck the ground not two feet away from me. Storm had struck the first blow of the battle. I could see her now, raising her arms, and the first gusts of wind buffeted us as we continued to run down the slope towards the X-Men.  
  
"Atlas!"  
  
Atlas thrust out one arm, spreading his fingers towards the ground. The ground before him shook as his power took mastery, and a jagged crack appeared as the earth was forced apart. Atlas flung out his other hand and the gash in the earth began to widen and lengthen, reaching out towards the X-Men. Storm was directly in its path, and with a scream she disappeared into the abyss as the earth continued to crack apart.  
  
"Storm!" a voice yelled.  
  
While they were distracted, Vertigo and the Gemini twins covered the distance between the two opposing forces and homed in on their targets. Cyclops was caught in indecision as both twins attacked him – which was the real one? – and both twins kicked him in the chest, flinging him to the ground. Shapeshifter was likewise caught off guard, and Vertigo twisted to aim a blow at his jaw. The X-Man reacted in an instant, ducking underneath the punch, his own fist scything through the air towards Vertigo. My friend swerved aside and flipped upside down to kick out at Shapeshifter's head. The liquefier ducked, rolled over and stood in one fluid motion, and prepared for the next exchange.  
  
The battle had now begun in earnest as bolts of lightning, balls of fire and jets of ice began to fly back and forth between the two sides. Recyclo flicked a knife through the air towards Shock, but Wolverine was in the way, blocking with his claws. Mole was hurrying forward to deal with him, and Scarab was ploughing towards Rogue. I stopped. This was not my fight. As much I wanted to take part, to help my friends overcome our enemies, that was not what I was here to do. A gust of wind buffeted me, almost knocking me off my feet, and I looked over to see Storm rising from the chasm, her eyes turned pure white, as another bolt of lightning cascaded down from the heavens, this one narrowly missing Atlas. He retaliated by lifting a huge rock and hurling it towards Storm. It hit her in the back, knocking her off balance, and I turned my attention to see where Nightcrawler was. Once all eight of our enemies were committed to the fight, it was time for me to move.  
  
I could see him now, trying to help Shapeshifter. The duel between the liquefier and Vertigo was a fascinating one, both of them spinning, turning and twisting with almost impossible speed, launching attacks and blocking each other's almost in the same instant. Spellbound, I could have stood and watched them fight for hours, but I knew I had my own part to play. I watched as Vertigo flipped over in mid-air, kicking Nightcrawler and Shapeshifter simultaneously, throwing both of them to the ground. All of our enemies were now locked in battle. That was my cue. Forcing myself to turn my back on the fight behind me, I hurried towards the building. I heard a woman's voice screaming from behind me, and I glanced round immediately to see who was in trouble. I couldn't tell. It could have been Cassandra. It could have been Gemini. It could have been one of the female X-Men. There was no way of knowing. I turned back, and ran inside.  
  
It had been hot outside but the interior of the building was air-conditioned and deliciously cool. I basked in the ambience for a moment, then looked to see where I should be heading for. The vaccine would be stored in refrigeration in the biggest storeroom, according to the documents we had appropriated. It was possible that our enemies might have moved it, but it was as good a place to start as any. I looked for a sign or a map to tell me which way to go. There appeared to be a reception desk here in front of me, and behind it I found a folded-up plan of the building. Studying it for a few moments, I deduced where to head, and began to run in that direction. It wasn't a long distance, and as I turned the last corner to run down a long corridor to the storeroom, I began to rejoice.  
  
The humans were dead. I was the instrument of their destruction, and nobody could stop me now. The X-Men probably didn't even know I was here, and they were too preoccupied to do anything about it even if they did know. They had tried, tried so hard to stop us, but ultimately they had failed. Truth and justice had won through in the end, as I knew it always would. Our species, which was threatened by the hatred of humanity, was about to be given a new lease of life. With the humans gone, we could live in peace and happiness. This world was ours now, and would be our children's for ever more. The little girl back at our island, all the children at the X-mansion, all the other young mutants who were scattered over the world, living in terror and suffering daily. This was for them, for their lives, their happiness, their future.  
  
The door to the main storeroom stood before me. I kicked it open and hurried inside, looking around for the refrigeration unit. Apparently the vaccine needed to be kept below 0°c to remain in a stable condition. I grinned; it wouldn't be in a stable condition for long. It had been a valiant attempt by my mis-led parents to save the sub-creatures, but ultimately their efforts had been in vain. How ironic that it should be their own son, who they had tried so hard to brainwash into their own human-loving fantasies, who should be the one to destroy their precious cure. I just had to make sure it was in this room before I planted the explosive charge.  
  
There! That had to be it! The large white plastic box at the side of the room had to be what I was looking for. I recognised a refrigeration unit when I saw one. I also recognised the figure standing in front of it.  
  
"Hello, Gary," said Crusader.  
  
What the hell? I was still camouflaged! How could she - ?  
  
"I can sense that you're here, even if I can't see you," she said. "Put the explosives down, Gary."  
  
"Get out of my way."  
  
"I can't let you do this."  
  
"You're not going to stop me."  
  
"I won't let you kill them."  
  
"You can't stop me!"  
  
"If you want to kill them, you have to kill me first."  
  
My eyes narrowed in anger. The demon inside me stirred, "So be it!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	16. Duel of Fate

  
Chapter Sixteen  
  
Crusader was shaking her head slowly, "Gary, I can't believe you just said that."  
I clenched my fists and prepared for battle.  
"You'd really kill your own sister?" she asked.  
"If I have to choose between you and the survival of our species," I snapped. "Get out of my way and I won't have to make that choice."  
"Gary, you've got it all wrong! What you're doing doesn't help anybody! Killing people is wrong! Why do you want to kill the humans?"  
"Can't you read my mind?" I said mockingly. "You know why. They'll kill us if we don't kill them first."  
"No. Gary – "  
"My name is Gladiator! We've already seen what the humans will do to us if we don't fight them! How many mutants have to die before you open your eyes to reality, Crusader?"  
"We can live in peace. We can teach the humans not to fear us."  
"Bullshit! The X-Men have been trying longer than we've been alive, and we're no closer to anything remotely resembling peace!"  
"That doesn't mean we stop trying. If something's worth striving for – "  
"And what about all the mutants who get killed in the meantime? Don't they matter?"  
"Of course they do. We have to protect them. Them and the humans. Don't you realise that humans fear us because of people like Pyro, people like Magneto, people who want to use their powers to cause harm? You're saying that humans hate and fear us – haven't you ever stopped to think why, Gary?"  
"Don't call me that! Humans hate us because they're just scum! They don't deserve to live!"  
"That's Pyro talking. Gary, I know why you feel the way you do. I know what it is that's tearing at your heart."  
"They killed her. They killed my Marina."  
"No, Gary, they didn't."  
My fury began to rise as I snapped, "You saw it as plain as I did! She's dead! Nothing will ever bring her back! If I wipe out the humans then no other mutant will ever have to suffer the way I am!"  
"Gary – "  
"Gladiator!"  
" – she isn't dead."  
I stopped and blinked, "What?"  
"She's alive, Gary. Marina's alive."  
"You're lying!"  
"No. They didn't kill her. There's no need to avenge her death. She's alive and she wants to be with you. Come back to us."  
For a moment I closed my eyes, almost overwhelmed by the fireball of emotion that was exploding inside me. When I opened them again, they were twin balls of fiery, unforgiving hate.  
"How dare you," I seethed, my rage burning in my veins. "She meant more to me than anybody else in the world!! How dare you insult her memory by lying to try and get me back over to your side!!"  
"I'm not lying!"  
My anger was pushing me out of control, and I struggled to keep my voice level, "You have one more chance to get out of my way."  
"For goodness sake, Gary!" Crusader cried. "What do I have to say to convince you? She was shot – I healed her before she died – she's alive!"  
I wasn't even listening to her. I was already running forwards towards her. If she wouldn't get out of my way, I would do it for her. I flexed my muscles, and moved to grip Crusader by the shoulders and throw her aside. Except she wasn't there any more. She had twisted out of my reach, and she raised her hands in a gesture of peace, "Gary, I don't want to fight you!"  
"Then get out of here!"  
"I won't let you do this! If you don't believe me, come back to the mansion! See her for yourself!"  
"I'm not listening to you, Crusader! Just give it up!"  
"Gary!"  
I ignored her, and took from my belt the small explosive package. Suddenly, and without warning, it jumped out of my grasp and flew through the air towards Crusader. She had one arm outstretched; she opened her hand and the bomb dropped neatly into her palm.  
"Give me that back," I demanded.  
"No. I won't let you destroy the cure. I won't let you murder humanity."  
"I don't care about humanity! All I care about is our own kind! I'm only interested in protecting mutants! And getting rid of humanity is the best way to do it!"  
"Your voice, somebody else's words. You're just being a mouthpiece for Pyro."  
"Well, you're just being a mouthpiece for Cyclops or Xavier or whoever dreamed up your crazy fantasies!" I retorted angrily.  
Crusader did not reply at once. She breathed in deeply, calmed herself, then said, "There's no point in going on any longer, Gary. I'm not going to let you do this. Come back to the mansion and you'll see that Marina is alive."  
Hearing her name again was enough to push me over the edge, my rage overflowing. In my anger my camouflage dropped. No longer in control, I ran headlong towards Crusader, pulling my fist back to smash her lies back down her throat. She reacted instantly, spinning out of my path and delivering a kick that threw me to the floor. I picked myself up and swung a fist at her. Moving like lightning she ducked and swiped at my legs, knocking them out from under me, landing me flat on my face. I felt no pain, only further rage. From the ground I leapt towards her, breathing out a white-hot burst of flame directly at her heart. Crusader moved so fast she was practically a blur, leaping backwards and turning a somersault in mid-air to land safely on her feet.  
"You can't hurt me, Gary," she said, still holding the explosive charge in her right hand. "Just give it up. You're not going to kill the humans."  
"Just watch me…" I snarled.  
I threw another devastating punch that should have sent her flying, but again she dodged nimbly to the side and hit me in the chest with another side-on kick. This time I managed to keep my balance and I launched myself through the air to tackle her to the floor. She pushed away from the ground with her telekinetic power, levitating into the air, avoiding me completely. I struggled to my feet once more as she dropped safely to the ground. This time I feinted to hit her with my right fist, anticipated her dodge to the side, then followed up with a left-fisted punch aimed at her jaw. In a manoeuvre that practically defied physics, Crusader jumped, ducking under my punch and kicking me in the ribs at the same time. My breath knocked out of me, I hit the floor and sagged for a moment while I got my breath back.  
She was too fast. It was that thing she was doing with her mind, using her telepathy to increase her speed. Whether she was moving faster or I was moving slower or time itself was being altered, I couldn't tell, and right now I didn't really care. From a purely practical viewpoint, I saw it only as an obstacle to overcome. Unfortunately, I wasn't too sure how I was going to go about overcoming it. All I knew was that I had to do it. I had to get that explosive charge back and use it to destroy the vaccine, to save my species. I had to get that bomb away from Crusader at all costs, even if it meant killing her. I didn't want to hurt her, I didn't want to do anything to her, I certainly didn't want to kill her, but right now she was leaving me no choice.  
There had to be something I had to do. I had to use my powers. I couldn't just keep going after her with my fists. She was too powerful for that. I had to combine my powers in some way to overcome hers. I took a deep breath, concentrated hard, willing every fibre in my body, calling upon my camouflage. I almost lost concentration at the last moment, but I managed to hold it together and as I hurried towards Crusader, my invisibility slipped into place. She froze, caught in indecision for a split second, and it was that hesitation that was her undoing. Her telepathic senses could only give her a vague sensation of where I was, and this time she wasn't fast enough to dodge out of the way as my fist smashed into her face. She had moved far enough to the side that she wasn't hit full-on; I only caught a glancing blow on her cheek-bone, but it was enough to knock her over.  
Before she could get back to her feet I grabbed her by the shoulders and hurled her against the wall. Crusader gave a cry of pain as she hit the wall, the explosive charge falling from her hand and landing on the floor nearby. I made a grab for it, but she reacted just in time to knock it away from me, then twisted to kick me in the jaw with her other foot. I struggled to stay upright and Crusader took full advantage, lifting both of her hands to hit me with a telekinetic blast, flinging me across the room away from her.  
I had had the upper hand very briefly, but now she was back on top and things were not looking good. Previously her only intention had been to keep herself – and the bomb – away from me, but she was angry now and looking to punish me for throwing her into the wall. I was still invisible, and she was scanning the room intently, looking for any signs of movement, her eyes narrowed. She reached out with her hand, and the bomb jumped from the floor again, landing in her grasp. This time she clipped it securely to her belt, and said, "Gary, give it up! You can't win!"  
"Give me the charge back and get out of my way!" I yelled. "You don't understand what you're doing! You're condemning your own species! If we don't kill the humans we'll be wiped out ourselves!"  
"No!" she cried. "There doesn't have to be any killing! We can reach peace!"  
"Are you blind?!" I screamed. "Marina! Overlord! Toad! Sabretooth! How many mutants have to die before you realise that peace is never going to happen?!"  
"And what gives you the right to decide who lives and who dies?!" she yelled in return. "Look at what you're trying to do now! You call the humans murderers, so what does that make you?!"  
"I'm fighting for my kind! It's kill or be killed!"  
"No! Nobody has to die!"  
"Mutants already have died! It's too late for peace! Give me the bomb!"  
My fury finally exploded and I felt myself ascending into a berserk state that burned through my veins as if a volcanic eruption was taking place inside of me. My invisibility dropped once more, my inner demon of rage had taken control and I was accelerating towards Crusader, going faster and faster as my berserk fury increased my power. I was still invisible and she was only vaguely aware of my location. She knew it for sure when my fist slammed into her face with every ounce of force I could muster. Bones shattered and blood sprayed as Crusader was hurled against the wall. Screaming in agony she collapsed to the floor, and I grabbed at her weakened form. I couldn't stop now. My demon wouldn't let me. Lifting her body off the ground, holding her aloft by her shoulders, I smashed her into the wall, and again, and again, ignoring her screams, my demon exulting with the sound of more bones breaking and pain being caused. Finally I threw her across the length of the room, her body hitting the opposite wall and collapsing limply to the floor. My demon rejoiced. I ran over to claim the explosive charge.  
Crusader's hand twitched, and tightened into a fist. She gave a gasp of relief, and I realised what she had done. The wounds in her body began to close, her bones mending, her ruined face healing, her destroyed rib-cage re-setting itself. She was using her healing power, and within seconds her body was as good as new, as if the fight had never happened. Rising to her feet, her eyes narrowed, her muscles taut, she hissed, "I'm going to make you sorry you even thought about doing that."  
"Come on then," I snapped.  
She had lost her cool completely now, anger and desperation taking over as she sought to protect her beloved humans. Running across the floor towards me, Crusader gave an angry shriek as she launched a spinning kick aimed at my head. Knowing I didn't have the speed to avoid her, I tried to duck nonetheless. Her kick struck me in the side of the head, knocking me the floor; I reacted quickly to roll over and get back to my feet. I tried to rally immediately but Crusader had already launched her next attack, this time a swift right-fisted jab that I had no hope of avoiding. Hit in the face, I stumbled but remained on my feet. Crusader didn't let up, keeping on the attack, keeping me off balance, continually pummelling me with blows. My strength and immunity to pain was all that was keeping me going; without them I would have crumpled under her onslaught. As it was she was doing little or no damage to my body, but was successfully keeping me on the defensive and trying to wear me down.  
Crusader had already made her first mistake, by giving into her anger and fighting with the power of her fury. In doing so she had entered a realm of battle in which I would always be the master. Strong as her anger might be, she couldn't use it to amplify her powers as I could. Now she made her second mistake, committing herself to a two-footed kick aimed at my chest. In my berserk state I had enough speed to block her attack and use her momentum to throw her into the wall behind me. Crusader landed on her front, her breath knocked out of her. Before she could react in any way I had my foot in her back, holding her down, using my strength to prevent her body from moving. She struggled, but didn't have the body strength to force herself free. I reached down, grabbed the explosive from her belt, and clasped it in my hand.  
I wasn't fast enough to stop her hand from shooting out to the left, and the next thing I knew something hit me in the side of the head. A heavy wooden crate, summoned by her telekinesis, had sprung from the floor to smash into my skull, throwing me to the floor. The bomb went flying from my grasp, and Crusader stood. She lifted both of her arms, and I felt my body rising from the ground. Her telekinetic powers took hold of me, and she held me suspended in mid-air. I struggled, trying to find some way to pull myself back down, but there was nothing to take hold of. I was helpless.  
"Now it's over," she said, her body visibly calming. "Gary, if you don't believe me about Marina, why won't you come and see if I'm telling the truth? Nobody will make you stay if you don't want to."  
"Shut up! Put me down!"  
"I don't understand why you won't believe me. Don't you want her to be alive?"  
"Of course I do! But I know she isn't! So there's no point getting my hopes up only to have them dashed! You're lying about the death of the girl I loved – I'll never forgive you!"  
"I'm not lying."  
Her stubborn insistence set off another burst of anger within me, and I fought anew to free myself from the telekinetic lock that trapped me in the air. A frown crossed Crusader's face for a moment, and I sensed that my violent struggling was making it hard for her to keep a lock on me. I jerked my body powerfully to one side to try and break free, and she gave a cry of dismay as her mind powers failed her, and my body dropped to the ground. I wanted to lie there just for a second or two, to get my breath back and give my body a chance to rest, but I couldn't afford to stop. Jumping to my feet instantly, ignoring the growing fatigue in my muscles, I faced Crusader. She hesitated, and I acted. Going invisible, I sprinted straight towards her. Instinctively she stepped out of my path, but I turned to meet her and breathed a jet of fire at her face.  
I was too close for her to do anything to avoid it, and Crusader screamed as the flames seared her flesh, burning into her eyes and blinding her. Swiping her hand through the air in desperation, she fired a telekinetic blast that knocked me away, then collapsed on to her knees, still shrieking in pain. Her body relaxed as she used her healing, and her eyes and face were mended anew. I picked myself up from the ground, and we came together once more. Crusader swivelled, kicking me in the jaw, but I stayed on my feet and retaliated with a punch that she had to swerve almost horizontally to avoid.  
She held up her hands, "Gary, please…I don't want to fight. One of us is going to get killed."  
"Not me."  
"Please. We're brother and sister. We can't be doing this."  
"I have a new family now."  
Anger crossed her face again and she snapped, "Pyro's taken out everything that was ever good about you! He's turned you into a psychopath like him! Don't you understand he's just using you?"  
Trying to ignore her words, I snapped back, "Say goodbye to your precious humans, X-Man!"  
"I will never let you do this!"  
With that both of us moved back into action, as Crusader whipped her foot round in a vicious kick that would have broken a normal person's neck. I tried to knock her away from me, but she had got her poise and composure back, and I couldn't touch her. She was simply too fast for me to have any hope of hurting her, as she repeatedly twisted and stepped out of the way of my clumsy punches, then hitting back with lightning-fast counter-attacks, knocking me about, wearing down my resistance bit by bit. I was sent sprawling as she kicked me in the head, and I wavered on the brink of unconsciousness, my body wanting nothing more than to give into fatigue and sink into sleep. I struggled to keep my mind on top of things.  
As she walked towards me again, I began to see things more clearly. This had been a trap. The X-Men had set this up deliberately to bring Crusader and me together. They knew she was the only one who had a hope of standing up to me, and it was clearly their intention to put me out of action, knowing that doing so would weaken the Brotherhood. This had been their plan all along. They knew I was the single biggest obstacle in their fight to preserve human life, and this was their way of getting me out of the picture. Clearly the script had already been written, and I was merely playing out my part, destined as I was to lose to Crusader and fulfil Cassandra's prophecy.  
I rebelled. I wasn't playing their game. I wasn't going by their script. I lived life by my own book. Fresh determination surged through me. This was my book, and I was about to write the final scene to this act. I felt my fury began to escalate, to lift me higher and higher. I thought about everything that had ever made me angry: Overlord's death, Marina's death, the stupidity of my parents, the delusions of the X-Men, the hatred from the humans, and the stubborn blindness of Crusader. Throwing back my head and screaming with rage, I achieved a berserk ascension the likes of which I had never known before. My muscles tensed with a strength even I didn't know I possessed, and my mind began to function with an astonishing clarity. Everything outside of this room was pushed aside, none of it mattered, all of it could be temporarily abandoned – all that mattered was the fight between me and the girl who was now approaching me.  
Crusader swung her fist to punch my jaw, but her movements were slow and I raised my own hand to block her effortlessly. Her eyes widened with shock, and she tried to hit me once more, this time with another spinning kick. She was moving so sluggishly, it was almost as if she was in slow motion. Casually, easily, I stepped back, avoiding her. Now she was genuinely afraid; I could see it in her eyes. I moved forward, swinging my fist at her once more, and this time her attempt to jump aside was too slow. My punch smashed into her face and she was thrown to the floor. Even falling through the air she seemed to be moving slowly.  
And then I understood. My berserk power had increased my speed to such a level that I was moving even faster than Crusader. Even using her telepathic power to accelerate her movement, she still couldn't keep up with me. As she rose to her feet, holding her jaw painfully, genuine fear in her eyes, I closed in on her, not willing to give my enemy a moment's respite. Grabbing her, I slammed her into the wall, paying no attention to her weak attempts to escape. She tried to raise her hands to use her telekinesis, but I pulled her hands behind her back and held them there, smashing her face into the wall this time. Her movements became weaker, and I dropped her to the floor. She struggled to her feet and stayed upright, only just, raising her hands for peace.  
All I could think of was Marina, how the X-Men had failed to protect her, and how this X-Woman had lied about my love's death. She had tried to use my feelings to manipulate me, she had tried to convince me to come back to their mansion, where I would no doubt have been stabbed in the back and incarcerated as Pyro had. Nothing, but nothing, would make me forgive Crusader. The least I might have expected was for her to take my feelings for Marina seriously. But no. All she saw was a way to try and trick me into giving up my fight.  
I smashed my fist into her face, drawing blood, and she fell. I pulled her up, hit her again, and she fell once more. This time she didn't have the strength to stand, and curled up weakly on the floor, trying to protect herself. I pulled her to her feet, and launched a devastating spinning kick at her chest. For once time really did move in slow motion as Crusader's body was thrown into the air away from me, hitting the far wall with a bone-crunching impact, then falling to the floor. She lay still. I stood and waited, waiting for her to get back to her feet, but she didn't move. Her chest rose and fell weakly, blood still trickling on the floor from her injuries, her eyes closed, her body limp.  
I looked around for the bomb. It had fallen when she had hit me in the side with that crate. Where was it now? I could see it, lying by the wall near Crusader's fallen body. Walking over, I stooped, picked it up, and looked down at Crusader once more. She was still unconscious, and I moved over to the refrigeration unit she had fought so hard to protect. Placing the bomb on top, I wired up the detonator, explosive and timer as Pyro had taught me, and set the timer for two minutes. That should give me time to get out and get clear.  
Just me? I looked over at my sister's body, and changed my mind. Make that 'us'. She was an X-Man, she was an enemy, and I had sworn never to forgive her for lying about Marina, but she was still a mutant. She was still one of my own kind, who I was sworn to protect. She might not have agreed with the new age we were bringing, but she at least deserved to see it. Maybe she would realise she'd been wrong. I ran across to Crusader, and lifted her unconscious figure over my shoulder, heading back towards the bomb. It was primed, timed, and all I had to was press the button to start the timer.  
My finger hovered over it. As always before making a decision, I hesitated. Was this right? Was this really the right thing to do? Had I thought it through properly? Did I really want all the humans to die? Were they really all the same? Had Pyro always told me the truth about them? Was I as bad as a murderer for doing this? Memories began to float back into my mind…memories of a young woman named Melody, a human who hadn't hated mutants…memories of a tiny baby whose life I had saved that day in New York, a human whose life I had clearly thought worth saving…memories of friends at school – my old school – who hadn't hated me, humans who hadn't hated me for being the child of mutants. These people were doomed if I pressed this button. Was it right to kill them indiscriminately along with the rest? Were they acceptable losses? Were they casualties of war? Were they innocents? Did I have the right to decide whether they lived or died? What justification did I have for this?  
Marina. She was all the justification I needed. The girl I had loved, the girl I had wanted to stay with forever, had been taken from me while our love was still young. Humans had murdered her. They were all the same, they were all equally and fully responsible for her death. This wasn't for revenge, this was to make sure that what happened to us never happened again. This was for love that still existed, for Cassandra, for Gemini, and yes, perhaps for my parents too. But most of all for Marina. The humans had killed her, and thus forfeited their own right to live.  
For you Marina, and for every mutant everywhere.  
I pressed the button. The timer began counting down, and I headed for the exit. Crusader wasn't heavy and she didn't slow me down in the slightest. I remembered the route I had taken to get here, and now I was running to the front door. Outside I could her the sound of a jet's engines, and as I hurried out of the front door, I heard Pyro's voice yelling, "Come on!"  
Our jet was performing a vertical landing just outside the entrance of the building. Beyond it I could see the X-Men, hurrying towards me, stopping in their tracks when they saw Crusader's body slumped over my shoulder, horror appearing in their eyes. The landing ramp was down, Pyro beckoning me on board, and I ran up into the interior of the aircraft.  
"Take off!" he yelled.  
Vertigo hit the controls, and the jet ascended into the sky.  
"How did you know I was coming out?" I asked.  
Cassandra's voice came from behind me, "I foresaw it. Oh, Gladiator – my premonition was false – nothing happened to us – I'm so glad…"  
I left the unconscious Crusader on one of the seats, and put my arms around Cassandra to embrace her, holding her close, our lips coming together in a passionate kiss. Then Gemini had grabbed my arms, and hugged me, her eyes lighting up excitedly, "You did it, didn't you? You planted the – "  
At that moment we heard the distant roar from outside as the explosive went up. Going to a view-port, I peered outside to see the building erupting a huge fireball, the X-Men hurrying away as fast as they could towards their own jet. Gemini cheered, "Yes!"  
Atlas breathed a sigh of relief, "It's over. We're safe at last."  
Mole and Scarab were grinning broadly, and a rare smile lit up Pyro's face. Even Recyclo looked positively cheerful. I closed my eyes and allowed relief to sink over me. We had won. The humans were no more. Our species was safe. Our young, present and future, could lead their lives in peace, and in time learn to use their powers to protect their own children. As I thought of children, I took Cassandra in my arms again and kissed her with every fibre of passion that burned within my soul. For a moment, one single second, my heart wavered, and I wished that it was not Cassandra but Marina that I was kissing. I pushed that thought away and concentrated on loving Cassandra.  
For Marina was dead, and nothing could ever bring her back.  
  
  



	17. Epilogue: Fallen Angel

  
Epilogue:  
  
The mood in the meeting room at the X-mansion was one of utter dejection. To have lost not only the fight, but their strongest member, not to mention the future of the human race, was too devastating a blow to handle. Shock and Rogue were in tears as each of them struggled to come to terms with it. Wolverine was angry, but it was a hopeless, powerless anger, in the knowledge that there was nothing he could do to change the situation.  
"This is my fault. Everything that has happened is my fault."  
It was Oculus who spoke. He sat at the table with his head bowed, his eyes closed, and his spirit crushed, "I always knew there would be those who would try to undo what we work for, who try to kill human life. Never, not in my worst nightmares, did I imagine that my own son would become one of them, or that he would be the final instrument of our destruction. If I hadn't brought Gary here – none of this would have happened. I should never have become involved. I should never have brought them here."  
Cyclops interrupted him, "No. If you hadn't brought Annie and Gary here, there would have been nobody to fight off the Horsemen from the school."  
"He's gone, that kid," Wolverine argued. "He's as much a pupil of Magneto as anyone I've seen."  
"It isn't him," said Storm. "It's Pyro. All of it is Pyro. He's using Gary, using his anger and his misunderstanding to manipulate him. Pyro knows he doesn't have the strength to defeat us, so he's using a child who does."  
"What does it matter now?" said Shapeshifter morosely. "The cure is destroyed. Oculus, can you make another one in time?"  
Oculus sighed heavily, "I can synthesise the cure again, but it will take at least two weeks. By that time – it would be a waste of time. There wouldn't be enough humans left to benefit from it."  
"So there is no hope," said Nightcrawler.  
Nobody replied. Suddenly Gaia said, "Wait a minute."  
The others looked at her, "What?"  
"I've just remembered something."  
Oculus read his wife's mind, and his eyes widened with both surprise and hope at what he found.  
"There may be a sample of cure still intact," said Gaia.  
"Where?"  
"Annie had some. Annie took enough of it to fill a small test tube. I didn't ask her why at the time, but maybe she was planning just for this eventuality. I don't know what she did with that sample, but if she's still alive, it may still be intact."  
"Gary took her with them. They captured her."  
"Then it may still exist."  
Cyclops said, "So…maybe we do have a hope."  
"Pretty slim," said Wolverine.  
"Yes – but it's the only one we have."  
"So what we do?" asked Iceman.  
The leader of the X-Men sighed, "We can't do anything. We can't fight against Gary. The only one who can do anything is Annie. The fate of the human race lies in her hands."  
  
  



End file.
